THE STONE-CURLEW 237 



pairs spread over the favourite nesting-area. It is difficult to say 

 whether they are paired when they arrive, or choose their partners 

 during the week or two that they remain in companies ; probably the 

 latter, as careful watching at this time may reveal in a certain degree 

 the actions and attitudes peculiar to pairing, interspersed so to 

 speak with those of the social period. I have looked over the 

 ground after watching a group in early spring, and found several 

 depressions or " scrapes " in the sandy soil, similar in size and shape 

 to the one that later serves the stone-curlew as a nest. There is very 

 good reason for assuming that these " scrapes " are formed by the 

 males under sexual excitement, and the habit will be dealt with more 

 fully in a later chapter when describing the lapwing. 



The subject of "dummy" or additional nests is wrapped in 

 considerable mystery, and although more labour is entailed in the 

 building of the elaborate nest of the wren, and even the less ambitious 

 efforts of such birds as moorhens and grebes, yet the additional 

 "scrapes" made by ground-nesting birds are, I think, analogous to 

 the extra nests built by these species, and probably due to similar 

 influence. 



However this may be, additional " scrapes " similar to those used 

 as nests are made by stone-curlews, although, owing to their irregular 

 form and the sandy nature of the ground, they are not so obvious as 

 those of some other species. 



Egg-laying commences about the 20th of April, and nests may 

 occasionally be found near those of ringed-plovers and lapwings, but 

 as a rule stone-curlews prefer to nest quite apart from other birds, 

 especially of their own kind, and after the final dispersal in pairs, 

 it is unusual to see more than two together until the young are 

 grown. 



In striking contrast to most species of Limicolce of whose love- 

 displays we have any knowledge, the courting of the stone-curlew is 

 devoid of special aerial or vocal display. True, their wailing cries 

 may be heard in the spring, but do not differ from the autumn cries. 



