364 



Birds. 



THE female is called a Eeeve, and its flesh is thought a 

 great delicacy for the table. They are smaller than the 

 cocks, and their feathers undergo no change. The Kuff 

 and -Eeeve are -taken in nets. They used to be seen 

 in vast numbers in many parts of England, especially in 

 the Isle of Ely and the Lincolnshire fens. The improve- 

 ments in drainage and cultivation that have been made 

 during the present century have deprived these birds of 

 their accustomed haunts, and they are no longer common. 

 A writer of the last century said he had seen the ground 

 so covered with the nests and eggs of Plovers and Reeves 

 that "one could scarce take a step without stepping on 

 them." They are now most ^common on the shores of 

 southern Scotland and of Northumberland. 



Reeves are fattened for the table by feeding them, on 

 boiled rice or wheat, bread and milk, hemp seed, &c. 

 They are obliged to be kept in a dark room during the 

 process, as the least gleam of light is the signal for a 

 furious battle. 



