19© LLOYDS NATURAL HISTORY. 



as well as the Burmese provinces and Southern China. It is 

 only a straggler to the countries of Northern Europe, as it is 

 to Great Britain. 



Habits. — This is one of the most extraordinary of all the 

 Plovers, and is remarkable foi Ui rung legs. These are carried 

 out behind it, when the bird is flying, and from their bright 

 colour are very conspicuous. Mr. Seebohm observes : — 

 "There are few sights more interesting to an English ornitho- 

 logist than a breeding colony of Stilts. If quietly approached, 

 they may be watched standing up to their knees in water, 

 catching little tadpoles and water-beetles, picking up floating 

 shell-fish, or snapping at the gnats in the air, or the water- 

 spiders dancing on the surface of the lagoons. Perhaps it 

 looks most elegant as it trips daintily on the yellow ooze, 

 which scarcely seems to bend beneath its light weight. Some- 

 times two or three may be seen feeding together, walking with 

 deliberate, graceful step, which is occasionally quickened 

 almost into a run ; but they seldom utter a note. They do 

 not seem to be particularly shy, and it is not necessary to 

 keep concealed among the reeds, except when you approach 

 the nests. Then the habits of the birds change entirely : all 

 idea of feeding is given up, and their whole attention is 

 absorbed in the effort to decoy you from the colony ; they are 

 alarmed for the safety of their eggs, and in their excitement 

 they suddenly become noisy birds. As they run along the 

 sand, with uplifted wings, they look the perfection of beauty 

 and grace, but they soon take wing, and try hard to lead you 

 inland to the steppe. Generally two or three fly together, 

 looking almost like miniature Storks as they pass over ; the 

 neck is outstretched and the bill is slightly depressed, while 

 the long red legs, which reach considerably beyond the tail, 

 are also extended slightly below the horizontal line. The 

 motion of the wings is not very rapid, but the line of flight is 

 straight. Now and then the bird skims along for a short 

 distance with outspread, motionless wings, and, whilst thus 

 slowly sailing along, it has a curious habit of dropping its legs, 

 but this action is performed so high in the air that the bird 

 can scarcely be making preparations to alight, and may 

 perhaps be only trying to attract attention to itself. All this 

 time the birds are noisy enough. The Stilt has two cries of 



