GREAT PLOVER 



/ 



STONE CURLEW NORFOLK PLOVER THICK-KNEE. 



PLATE CXLIX. 



(Edicnemus crepitans, . . . NAUMANN. SEEBOHM. 



(Edicnemus scolopax, , . . DRESSER. 



Charadrius crepitans, . , , MONTAGU. BEWICK. 



Charadrius adicnemus, . . . LINNAEUS. GMELIN. 



THE Stone Curlew breeds locally in England, on the 

 chalk downs and open heaths. The eggs are laid on 

 the bare earth, among weather-worn stones. The male 

 appears to sit as well as the female. The young are led 

 about by the female almost as soon as hatched : at first the 

 old birds take great care of them. 



The eggs are pale clay brown, blotted, spotted, and 

 streaked with darker brown, assimilating closely in appear- 

 ance to the grey flints that surround them, thus being very 

 difficult to detect. They are generally two in number, but 

 Mr. Allan Hume has frequently taken three in India. 



Only one brood is reared in the year, but if the first 

 eggs are removed, the birds will nest again even as late as 

 September. 



