374 THE PLOVERS 



by the male, and goes so far as to add a little lining to one or two, 

 yet she does not appear to start fresh ones. Thus, as Mr. Brock says, 

 "The exact situation of the nest is primarily dependent on the choice 

 of the male bird a condition of affairs somewhat unexpected." a 



The action of scraping varies but little except in the energy 

 displayed. This is of a more vigorous nature when the bird is 

 excited by the proximity of a female, and more especially so when 

 he has secured one for a mate. But a male may continue working 

 energetically for some days before there is any sign that his domain 

 is visited by a particular female. He may be seen standing alone, 

 raising and lowering his wings and tail, and occasionally uttering 

 a long rasping note. This is usually the prelude to scraping, but 

 either action may take place independent of the other. 2 The 

 swaying of wings and tail may continue, but as a rule it soon ends 

 by the bird pitching suddenly forward on his breast, with the 

 posterior part of the body elevated at such an angle that the tail 

 and the tips of the wings point almost straight upwards. In this 

 attitude he rotates on his own axis and maintains a rolling or 

 shuffling motion with his breast, and scrapes energetically with his 

 feet. At intervals the wings are lowered, and the tail bent down 

 spasmodically until the ends of the feathers are pressed close on 

 to the ground. He may continue working in this way for some time, 

 the raising and lowering of the wings and tail occurring at more or 

 less frequent intervals. All periods of rolling or scraping are 

 accompanied by an apparently aimless pecking at the surrounding 

 herbage ; tufts of grass are plucked up and shaken from side to side, 

 and even tossed by the bird over its back. This will continue after 

 the bird has risen from the scrape, and now, as he has probably 

 advanced a step or two, some of the grass tufts which he throws 

 over his back may fall into the scrape, but this appears to be the 

 result of accident rather than design. 3 



1 Zoologist, 1911, p. 300. 2 See also Zoologist, 1911, p. 299. 



3 See also Bird-life Glimpses, p. 163; and Zoologist, 1911, p. 299. 



