88 BRITAIN^S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



is also quite proficient on the wing. The large round 

 eyes, which add to the strange appearance of the Stone- 

 Curlew, are signs of its crepuscular or semi-nocturnal 

 habits. It is on moonlight nights that the somewhat 

 Curlew-like cry is most often to be heard. 



The Stone-Curlew is a summer visitor to the British 

 Isles, being with us from April to October, individuals 

 sometimes lingering till midwinter. Its nesting area is 

 rather limited, and even well within its confines the bird 

 is apt to be very local. The open downs, 'brecks,' and 

 heaths of the chalk-country are its typical British haunts, 

 and the breeding area may be said to include most of 

 the south and east of England and the southern 

 midlands. It is, however, most abundant in the south- 

 eastern counties. To the west and north of England, 

 and to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the species is only 

 an occasional wanderer. Before the autumn emigration 

 the birds collect in flocks. 



The nest is a mere hollow scraped on the open ground. 

 The eggs may be laid soon after the bird's arrival in 

 April. They are usually only two in number. They are 

 pale buff in ground-colour, with two sets of markings, 

 ash gray and deep brown respectively. Incubation lasts 

 for nearly four weeks, the male taking his share. The 

 down plumage of the active young chicks has a very 

 characteristic pattern of a few longitudinal black stripes 

 running through the sandy-coloured down of their upper- 

 parts ; there is also a dark ' horse-shoe ' mark on the 

 forehead. They make full use of the crouching habit 

 already alluded to. 



