THE RINGED-PLOVERS 347 



a drumming snipe, accompanied by a sound which is undoubtedly 

 vocal. 1 A similar description is given by Baron von Droste Hiilshoff, 

 who says : "It flies in a peculiar bat-like wavering manner, the 

 wings fully extended, the body thrown now on the one and now 

 on the other side, and it almost describes a circle in its flight, 

 uttering as it flies a peculiar note, which resembles the syllables 

 ' frit, tritritritrirrr.' " 2 



Both sexes share in the incubation of the eggs, although it has 

 been stated that the male alone of the Kentish-plover undertakes the 

 task of incubation. 3 The statement, however, is refuted by pictorial 

 evidence as well as by observation. I have photographed a female 

 standing on the edge of her nest, and in Dr. Ticehurst's Birds of Kent 

 the frontispiece is a very pretty photograph, showing a female on the 

 nest and a male sitting by her side. Moreover, it is stated by Baron 

 von Droste Hiilshoff that the male utters an alarm-note " fluit " at 

 which the female creeps from the nest, runs for some distance, and 

 then flies circling round, calling "pit-pit." 



Of the ringed-plover Dr. Heatherley states that " they seem to 

 relieve one another at sitting every half-hour." 4 I have obtained 

 photographs of male and female sitting. On one occasion the male 

 was photographed, and left the nest when the exposure was made ; 

 within a quarter of an hour the female came on to the nest, and I 

 secured a photograph of her. The difference in plumage, especially 

 the extent of black on the head and neck, was very pronounced in 

 these two birds, and shows very clearly in the photographs. 



When a ringed-plover is put off' its eggs, it runs for some distance 

 before taking flight. If the nest is on the seashore it is generally on 

 a ridge a little above high-water mark, and the bird runs from the 

 nest, with lowered head, down to the edge of the water, where it is 

 joined by its mate, and the two run to and fro, frequently giving 

 utterance to a low plaintive whistle. Mr. Boraston says that when an 



1 British Birds, their Nests and Eggs, v. p. 74. 2 Vogehv. Bork., pp. 184-7. 



3 Zoologist, 1896, p. 412. Zoologist, 1908, p. 365. 



VOL. III. 2Y 



