THE LAPWlXG. 13£ 



with dark brownish-black. They are reported to be placed 

 closely in the nest, with the narrow ends pointing inwards. 



As before mentioned, the young will run as soon as 

 hatched, and are covered with down, which makes them 

 appear very pretty, but they cannot fly until they are fully 

 grown. The adult birds are really very handsome, as may 

 be imagined from the plate. The feathers upon the head 

 are black, glossed with green, and considerably elongated, 

 so as to form a very pretty upward-turned crest. From 

 the beak to the eye, and passing over it, is a streak of 

 white, sometimes spotted with black or brown ; down the 

 throat and upon the breast glossy black; and a streak of 

 the same colour runs from the base of the beak under the 

 eye to the nape of the neck ; the back and wings are olive- 

 green, the latter being shaded with brown and purple ; the 

 sides and back of the neck are white, shaded with buff ; 

 the under parts are white, deepening to pale brown towards 

 the tail. This latter is white, deeply tipped with black. 



The female very much resembles the male, but the crest 

 (which is formed of six or seven feathers having an upward 

 tendency) is not so long, and she is not quite so brilliant 

 in her plumage as her mate ; the black band, too, across 

 the face — from the base of the beak, and under the eye 

 to the back of the head — is duller, and, indeed, may be 

 termed deep brown. The young very much resemble their 

 parents, but are not so handsome, and also have a shorter 

 crest. 



As may be imagined from the districts it frequents, 

 the food of the Lapwing consists principally of worms, 

 slugs, and such other insects as it may find in marshy 

 or fallow lands; but it also eats grain and seeds. They 

 very often feed at night, when the worms quit their holes 



