IN THE /MONTH OF JUNE 95 
in deceiving you as to the position of their 
nests. Uttering their plaintive ‘ Pee - wit’ 
cries and flying and swooping in an agitated 
way, you think they are quite near the nest, 
whereas the wily hen, on seeing your approach 
on the flat land (which they can do while 
you are yet half a mile away), quits the nest 
and runs for many yards before she takes to 
wing, and is then joined by her watching mate, 
who joins her in the ruse. The eggs of the 
peewit vary much as to colour, and copy 
the light or dark shade of the surrounding 
grass, so that they may be the better hidden 
in the exposed spots in which the nests are 
built. This is a good example of the instinct 
of self-preservation, which is the first law 
of nature in us all. The eggs are well known 
as table delicacies. The earliest found, about 
Easter time, sometimes fetch in London half 
a crown each. They are therefore eagerly 
sought after by shepherds in the Fens. This 
wholesale destruction has of course much 
diminished the number of these useful grub- 
destroying birds in this country. If done to 
