SPUR-WING LAPWING 179 
giant grasses have disappeared) it is (or was) exces- 
sively abundant ; and it is there resident, although, 
as with most strong-winged resident species, some 
individuals do certainly migrate, small parties being 
occasionally seen in spring and autumn flying steadily 
at a great height, apparently performing a long 
journey. Asa rule the birds pair for life, and remain 
always on the spot where they breed. They may be 
persecuted with guns, their eggs taken year after 
year, even the ground turned up with the plough, 
but they still refuse to be driven out. In regions 
having a broken surface—hills, woods, and sheltered 
hollows—birds naturally get attached to one spot, 
for each locality possesses its own features, and 
individuals frequenting it acquire a knowledge of 
its advantages. The vast pampas have a uniform 
level surface, and produce the same kinds of food 
in the same quantities. They are parched with 
droughts and flooded by rains alternately, and swept 
by dust storms in summer and cold gales in winter 
—violent enough, one would imagine, to drive every 
winged creature away and obliterate all marks of 
home. Again, the powerful flight of this species 
would enable it to take long journeys, and if un- 
affected by atmospheric changes, scarcity of food 
and water might be a temptation to seek new regions. 
But through all vicissitudes the Téru-téru clings to 
its chosen spot of ground. 
In defence of its territory it wages perpetual war 
against most living creatures, the objects of its special 
abhorrence being men, dogs, Rheas, and birds of 
