The Oologists Record, March i, 1922. 



time I was under the impression that such places were invariably 

 chosen, being in fact necessary to enable the bird to rapidly cover 

 its eggs when disturbed, but in the last two years I have found many 

 nests in hard ground, and it was quite evident from their appearance 

 that these nests had been carefully prepared, but it was not until 

 this year that I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity of 

 watching the birds at work. I was in my cattle kraal one evening 

 watching the natives milking. Looking over the wall, I noticed 

 two Kittlitz Plovers running about twenty yards from the kraal. I 

 stood watching them, and every now and then one would run to 

 a certain spotj sit down and commence turning round, at the same 

 time kicking with its leg. Something frightened the birds away 

 and I took the opportunity of quickly investigating. I found that 

 they had commenced to excavate a hollow. They kept at work 

 every morning and evening for three days each bird taking its 

 turn at excavating the hollow which, by the end of the third 

 day, measured 3I inches in diameter and ij inches deep. I never 

 saw them working during the heat of the day. On the morning 

 of the fourth day they commenced filling the hollow up with very 

 small pieces of earth and dry dung. Standing a little way from 

 the hollow, one bird would pick up the material required and with 

 a dexterous flick of its head throw it into the hollow. While doing 

 this it worked very rapidly. The other bird meanwhile was picking 

 small stones which it would bring and drop into the hollow. By 

 the evenmg of the fifth day the hollow was completely filled, and 

 a plentiful supply of earth, small pieces of dung, and very small 

 stones placed round its edge. On the morning of the eighth day 

 the nest contained its full complement of two eggs and the bird 

 commenced sitting. It ran off as I approached, leaving the eggs 

 completely covered. I was watching it one day with glasses, when 

 a donkey approached. It waited until the donkey was close to the 

 nest, then stood up, faced it with wings outstretched and hissed. 

 The donkey strolled away and the bird sat down again. Shortly 

 after this a calf came along. It spotted the sitting bird, and with 

 a mischievous look in its face walked straight up to it. The bird 

 jumped off the nest and ran a short distance,pretendingto be disabled, 

 the calf following. In this way it led the calf some distance from 

 its precious eggs. Suddenly it stood up, shook itself and ran back 

 to the eggs, leaving the calf bewildered. I got a native to approach 

 the nest, and it was quite evident that the bird did not trust a 



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