SPUR-WING LAPWING 183 
in a compact flock; they divide into sets of three 
birds each, then hover for some time, all waving 
their wings exactly in time and screaming their notes 
in unison, and these movements seem like an imita- 
tion in the air of the usual marching and drumming 
performance on the ground. 
The breeding-season of the Térus begins as early 
as the month of June in favourable seasons ; severe 
cold, drought, or other causes sometimes delay it to 
August. The nest is a shallow circular hollow made 
by the bird on the level plain, and lined with broken 
grass-stems and small fragments of thistle-stalks ; 
the eggs are four, rather sharply pointed at one end, 
and have an olive-green ground colour spotted with 
black. The eggs in different nests vary greatly in 
size, ground colour, and in the amount of black they 
are marked with, no two birds laying eggs exactly 
alike. 
While the female is on the nest the male keeps 
watch at a distance of twenty or thirty yards, and 
utters a low warning cry in case of danger. The 
female leaves the nest sometimes by running, but 
oftener flies from it, and by marking the spot she 
rises from it is easy to find the nest on the open level 
pampas. In the course of a morning’s ride I have 
picked up as many as sixty-four eggs. During 
incubation the birds are excessively watchful and 
jealous, their irritability increasing with the growth 
of the chick in the shell; and at that time they 
will attack any bird of prey approaching the nest 
with great fury. When approached by a human 
