THE SAND-PLOVERS. 1 65 



moments. It is rather more shy than its larger ally, and takes 

 wing more readily. In its flight it is very similar to the Ringed 

 Sand-Plover, but its notes are very different from that of its near 

 allies. Its ordinary call-note is a loud, clear, plaintive, and 

 monotonous /^^, almost lengthened into two syllables. When 

 alarmed the note is pronounced much shorter, and repeated 

 more rapidly ; and in spring it is uttered still more rapidly so 

 as to become continuous, especially at the close of its love- 

 song, when it becomes a trill.* 



Mr. Dixon says that, in Algeria, he has seen the male soaring 

 into the air like a lark, and flying about for a considerable 

 time, uttering his peculiar love-song, soaring higher and 

 higher above the sandy wastes, and then gradually descending 

 again. 



Nest. — None, being merely a little cavity in the sand, with a 

 slight lining. Mr. Robert Read writes to me: "Although 

 the species breeds sparingly in Sweden, I was fortunate 

 enough to discover two nests there in June, 1894. Both were 

 in small patches of shingle on islands in a large fresh-water 

 lake. In the first case the bird flew off as our boat ap- 

 proached the island, and I found the nest with four fresh eggs. 

 In the second instance I saw the bird running off just as the 

 boat touched the shore, and I found the nest with four eggs 

 about a week incubated. In both cases the slight hollows in 

 the shingle, which did duty for nests, were lined with dried 

 grass, sticks, and stalks, which is very unusual with ^. 

 hiaticola. The latter, when an intruder is in the vicinity 

 of its nest, usually keeps not far off, uttering a monotonous, 

 plaintive whistle ; but in neither of the above instances did 

 I hear any note of the birds after they left the nest." 



Eggs. — Four in number, pear-shaped, and laid point to 

 point. The ground-colour is clay-buff to a sort of greenish- 

 grey. The blackish markings are similar in character to those of 

 yE. hiaticola, and the underlying spots are just as indistinct. 

 The size of the egg is considerably smaller than that of the 

 eggs of the Ringed Sand-Plover. Axis, i"i-i'25 inch; diam., 

 o-8-o'9. 



* Seebohm, Hist. Biit. B. iii. pp. 17, 18. 



