BLACK-WINGED STILT. 5 



" Colonel Legge writes from Ceylon : — ' Great numbers of these birds were 

 breeding at Minery and Kandclay tanks this year. At the latter place I found 

 many fresh eggs as late as the 4 th of August ; many others were hard-set, but no 

 young were, up to that time, to be found. In the south I have found young as 

 early as the end of June. The spot chosen to breed in, at Kandelay, is an island 

 in the tank ; the ground is partly shingly and partly overlaid with soil, rock 

 cropping out in one or two places. I found the nests in all situations and 

 very variously constructed ; some were holes scooped in the ground and lined 

 with large gravel only ; some constructed amidst lumps of flood-deposit ; some 

 scraped in the ground and scantily lined with small twigs and grass-stalks ; others 

 made in depressions in rock and built entirely of little sticks and other matter 

 taken from the ' flood-wreck.' The eggs were mostly four in number, though 

 many nests contained three hard-set ; they were for the most part not placed 



point to point, and varied immensely in size and ground-colour When its 



breeding-grounds are approached the Stilt is very clamorous, flying towards the 

 intruder and passing to and fro over his head, with loud harsh cries, but when the 

 vicinity of its nest is reached, it usually retires and alights at some little distance, 

 allowing its nest to be rifled Avithout further manifestation.' .... In length 

 the eggs vary from 1-5 to 1'8, and in breadth from I'l to 1'32 ; but the average of 

 sixty-four eggs taken at random out of over three hundred and carefully measured 

 was 1-64 by 1-21." 



Mr. H. Seebohm states that the eggs of the Black-winged Stilt " vary in 

 length from 1'85 to 15 inch, and in breadth from 1-32 to 1-1 inch." * 



Mr. H. E. Dresser states that the measurements of eggs of this species in 

 his collection vary from 1-82 by 1-27 inch to 1-57 by 1-2 inch.f 



* 'History of British Birds,' vol. iii. p. 82. 



+ ' History of the Birds of Europe,' vol. vii. p. 592. 



f2 



