VOL. VI.] FIELD-NOTES ON STONE-CURLEWS. 267 



May '2nd. The old bird again came up and reached 

 the eggs without my heing able to detect its approach, 

 in spite of keeping a careful look-out. 



May 3rd. I learnt how this was done. The old bird 

 came up from behind, passed close by the tent and slipped 

 on to the eggs. Tliis occurred about 5 o'clock. Between 

 6 and 7 o'clock the mate came up whilst I was watching, 

 and took its turn at sitting. I thought this was the 

 male, but could not be sure, as the light was very poor. 

 What happened was as follows : the sitting-bird looked 

 up and gave a low note wliich brought the mate striding 

 up. As soon as he got within a few yards he stopped 

 and stood staring at the tent. Apparently, however, he 

 was soon satisfied that everything was all right, 

 perhaps because he saw that the other bird was sitting 

 quite contentedly. As soon as lie had come up quite 

 close to her, she began to pick up a few small pebbles 

 and to drop them just round her. Meanwhile he was 

 making her a series of bows. She then got up, ran off 

 and he slowly took her place. When she had gone about 

 twelve ya^rds from the eggs she became, in the poor light, 

 absolutely invisible against the fallow ground. The 

 afternoon was very dull, with a slight breeze blowing 

 directly from the tent towards the sitting bird. Before 

 leaving I put the tent about eight feet from the eggs. 



May 4th. I was again in the tent, and the female 

 came on to the eggs and sat all right for a time, but 

 suddenly she ran oft. I am afraid that I must have made 

 some shght noise or perhaps she heard my retriever, 

 which was asleep and breathing deeply, though not at 

 all loudly, in the tent. She joined her mate about fifty 

 yards away, and when she got up to him he almost stood 

 on his head in front of her. After a miimte or so he came 

 towards the eggs, but hesitated when al)0ut thirty yards 

 off. She then ran up to him, sat down just in front of 

 him, and apparentlj^ made a pretence of being on the 

 eggs, for she began to pick at things round her in the same 

 way that she had done on the previous afternoon when 



