35 



Case 201 . 



LAPWING OR PEEWIT {Vanellus vulgaris). 

 Local names : Peewit, Green Plover. 



A common resident throughout the British Islands, but having 

 ^ts numbers greatly augmented in winter by large flocks from the 

 continent. It frequents bare fallow and moorland, where worms, 

 insects and slugs are abundant. The nest is merely a depression in 

 the soil, scratched out by the birds, and lined with a little dry grass. 

 The eggs, usually four in number, are very variable in colour, but 

 commonly brownish-buff, blotched and spotted with blackish-brown 

 (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 20). The eggs are collected for 

 the table. In the group notice how the colouration of the young 

 Peewits blends with the surrounding foliage in which they are 

 sheltering, rendering them most inconspicuous, and without doubt 

 affording protection to them. 



DUNLIN {Tringa alpina). 

 Local names : Sea-lark, Sea-snipe, Oxeye. 



This species is common on the shores and tidal rivers of the British 

 Islands, throughout the year, and may be met with in large flocks 

 feeding on the mud flats and sandbanks uncovered by the tide, 

 during the winter months. In summer most of the adult birds move 

 inland to the moorlands to breed. The nest consists of a slightly lined 

 depression in the turf, situated among short heather or coarse grass. 

 The eggs, four in number, are usually of a pale green colour, blotched 

 and spotted with grey and reddish-brown (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, 

 drawer 21). 



GOLDEN PLOVER {Charadrius pluvialis). 



Although many are resident, the species is most plentiful during 

 the periods of migration and in winter, when vast flocks frequent 

 the pastures and coasts in search of food — insects, worms, molluscs, etc. 

 The birds retire to the moors to breed, about March. The nest is 

 merely a slight hollow in the ground, u^sually among heather or short 

 grass. The four eggs are yellowish-buff, handsomely blotched and 

 •spotted with purplish-brown and brownish-black (see British Bird 

 Egg Cabinet, drawer 20). It is interesting to note that after the 

 autumn moult the black underparts are replaced by white. 



SNIPE [Gallinago ccelestis). 



Common throughout the British Islands especially in Scotland and 

 Ireland, frequenting marshy districts. It is more numerous during 

 the colder months of the year, when numerous flights arrive from the 



