208 THE RINGED PLOVER. 



Plover, which hurriedly jumps and runs as fast as its little pink 

 legs can carry it away along the beach to the next nearest bit of 

 cover, all the while waving its tiny stumps of wings and calling 

 for mother its very loudest. The young when running are by no 

 means easy to keep in view owing to their colouring, and we 

 have often had to lay our heads level with the beach in order to 

 catch sight of the young against the sky-line. The parent birds, 

 on finding that their young are discovered, at once become 

 alarmed and agitated, and will run almost to one's feet whistling 

 and calling, endeavouring to attract attention to themselves from 

 the young birds. They will both on these occasions, but more 

 especially the female, feign broken wings, broken legs, or even 

 death, stumbling along the beach with the greatest difficulty, 

 attempting to fly, but failing owing to one wing being useless. 

 Sometimes after a short struggle the bird will get on the one 

 sound leg and start a short flight with one whole wing and one 

 disabled one, only to find that the whole wing suddenly breaks, 

 leaving the poor bird lying on the sand, feathers tumbled, wings 

 and tail stretched out the picture of helpless misery ! If, 

 however, we try to catch the bird, she will soon show us that it 

 is all sham, darting off a little way to repeat the whole' process, 

 till she thinks she has led you far enough away from the young 

 birds and that they are safe. Then she will rise with a joyous 

 note, as if delighted at the success of her ruse, and return to call 

 together her scattered family. We have on several occasions 

 tried to see how far a Ringed Plover would carry this imitation, 

 but she knows the margin of safety to an inch. The young 

 birds continue to be tended by their parents and to feign death 

 till they can fly, after which the family goes about in a little 

 party till the approach of winter induces them to join in one of 

 the numerous little flocks which rang harbour. 



It is exceedingly doubtful if the Km l Plover rears a second 

 brood. Mr. M. C. H. Bird informed Mr. Henry Seebohm that 

 he had found young on the 3rd of August. This is unusually 

 late, but we suggest as the probable explanation the destruction 

 of the earlier clutches. 



