286 RINGED PLOVER. 



it gets up. It will also occasionally feign lameness to 

 draw ofP the intruder's attention. 



Its food consists principally of shrimps, sea-worms, 

 beetles and a large number of insects that frequent 

 the seashore. It runs with great ease and swiftness, 

 and is a pretty sight as it darts over the sands, pausing 

 frequently to catch some insect and then hurrying on 

 a few steps farther, reminding one somewhat of the 

 Wagtails in its movements. 



The Ringed Plover makes no nest, but lays its eggs 

 in a small hollow which it scratches in the sand, or 

 occasionally in the shingle. In Norfolk it is known 

 as the Stonehatch from a habit it has of sometimes 

 lining the hollow with small pebbles. This, however, 

 is by no means a common practice. The breeding 

 season commences in April, and numbers of the birds 

 usually breed close together. 



The eggs, four in number, are very large in propor- 

 tion to the size of the bird. They possess the peculiar 

 pointed shape at the small end common to birds of 

 this family, and are usually laid with these pointed 

 ends placed inwards. The colour of the eggs much 

 resembles the surroundings among which they are 

 placed ; huffish or stone colour forms the ground 

 colour of the egg, spotted and streaked with black 

 and dark grey. 



It can be easily kept in confinement, being of a very 

 hardy nature. 



