CHARADRIID^. 59 



Order IV.— GRALLATORES. 



Family — Charadriid^. 



Peewit ( Vanelhis cristahis). Although a resident 

 throughout the year, the Lapwing, or Green Plover, as 

 it is provincially called, greatly augments its numbers 

 in spring and late in the autumn. During November 

 it is common, and between the end of October and 

 the beginning of March immense numbers pass over 

 Windsor in a southerly direction. In severe winters, 

 as that of \Z66-6j, these Plovers sometimes allow 

 themselves to be captured by the hand, for the cold 

 appears to paralyse them and weaken their powers of 

 flight. They are exceedingly useful in a garden, 

 where they do good by demolishing worms, slugs, 

 and other insects. The young birds are able to run 

 as soon as they leave the nest, and they run very 

 fast too, frequently lowering their heads to the ground 

 as they go. 



Peewits make their nests (If a slight depression In the 

 soil, lined with a few reeds and bents, can be called 

 a nest) in swampy places and fallow lands in various 

 parts of both counties; some few breed in that portion 



