THE KILL-DEER PLOVER. 417 
they winnow the air overhead, dive and course around you, or run 
along the ground counterfeiting lameness, are shrill and incessant. 
The moment they see a person approach, they fly or run to attack 
him with their harassing clamor, continuing it over so wide an 
extent of ground, that they puzzle the pursuer as to the particular 
spot where the nest or young are concealed; very much resem- 
bling, in this respect, the Lapwing of Europe. During the even- 
ing, and long after dusk, particularly in moonlight, their cries are 
frequently heard with equal violence, both in the spring and fall. 
From this circumstance, and their flying about both after dusk and 
before dawn, it appears probable that they see better at such times 
than most of their tribe. They are known to feed much on worms, 
and many of these rise to the surface during the night. The 
prowling of Owls may also alarm their fears for their young at 
those hours ; but, whatever may be the cause, the facts are so. 
“The Kill-deer is more abundant in the Southern States in win- 
ter than in summer. Among the rice-fields, and even around the 
planters’ yards, in South Carolina, I observed them very numerous 
in the months of February and March. ‘There the negro boys fre- 
quently practise the barbarous mode of catching them with a line, 
at the extremity of which is a crooked pin, with a worm on it. 
Their flight is something like that of the Tern, but more vigorous ; 
and they sometimes rise to a great height in the air. They 
are fond of wading in pools: of water, and frequently bathe them- 
selves during the summer. They usually stand erect on their legs, 
and run or walk with the body in a stiff, horizontal position: they 
run with great swiftness, and are also strong and vigorous in the 
wings. Their flesh is eaten by some, but is not in general esteem; 
though others say, that, in the fall, when they become very fat, it 
is excellent. 
“ During the extreme droughts of summer, these birds resort to 
the gravelly channel of brooks and shallow streams, where they can 
wade about in search of aquatic insects: at the close of summer, 
they generally descend to the seashore in small flocks, seldom more 
than ten or twelve being seen together. They are then more serene 
and silent, as well as difficult to be approached. 
. The eggs of this species are four in number. They are 
oblong-pyriform in shape, creamy-buff in color, with numer 
27 
