STONE-CURLEW 283 



the south to the wolds of Lincolnshire and the East Riding of 

 Yorkshire in the north. It does not occur in Ireland. It is a bird 

 of a somewhat singular appearance, and is the sole representative 

 of its family in Europe. It is. a summer visitor to England, a 

 few birds remaining to winter in the southern counties, and in- 

 habits extensive heaths where there are patches of stony or pebbly 

 ground ; and it also frequents fallows and downs. In its habits 

 it is semi-nocturnal, feeding principally by night ; it is by night 

 that its wild, clear, ringing cry is usually heard. Its breeding- 

 time is about the middle of April, when it deposits its two eggs 

 in a slight hollow in the ground, among the flint pebbles and 

 scanty vegetation.. The eggs are buff-coloured, spotted and streaked 

 with grey and brown, and are very hard to discover, so well do 

 they harmonise in hue and markings with the sandy and pebbly 

 ground on which they are placed. 



Mr. Trevor-Battye thus describes the nesting habits of the stone- 

 curlew in his ' Pictures in Prose ': ' This bird, quite apart from its 

 own very quaint appearance and habits, must always have a great 

 interest for British ornithologists, as it is the nearest surviving 

 link we have with the great bustard, now, alas ! extinct in this 

 country. It is nocturnal in its habits, and is extremely wary and 

 shy. Although on its arrival in spring it keeps well away in the 

 open, it generally lays its eggs not far from a belt or covert of trees. 

 The pair of which I speak had chosen the middle of a gravelly 

 space among the pines. By creeping upon hands and knees under 

 cover of a bank one could gain a position, just fifteen paces away 

 from the nest, without being observed, so close that with my 'glass 

 I could see the light shine through the crystal prominence of the 

 sitting-bird's great yellow eyes. At intervals one bird would 

 relieve the other on the nest. When disturbed the birds ran away 

 for shelter to a bank beneath the pines. And here the bird that 

 was not sitting always stood sentry. When its turn came to relieve 

 its mate it would walk pretty deliberately across the first part of 

 the open, where it was more or less screened by a fringe of trees ; 

 and then, having reached a point that was commanded from a long 

 way off, it would suddenly lower its head, and run as fast as a red- 

 leg to the nest. When it was about a yard away the sitting-bird 

 would slip off, and, staying for no greetings, run past, and away to 

 the pine-bank. ... It w r as interesting to notice that the bird always 

 rose backwards from the nest, so that its long legs should not dis- 

 turb the eggs ; and that the new-comer did not turn the eggs 



