THE SAND-PLOVERS. 169 



The nestlings themselves are adepts at hiding, their mottled 

 plumage closely resembling the variegation of their stony sur- 

 roundings. If the observer walks erect the chances of dis- 

 covering the nestlings are small indeed, even if he knows that 

 the little ones are running away from him ; for it is almost impos- 

 sible to perceive them above. I have, however, captured several 

 nestlings by resting my head on the shingle, when the little crea- 

 tures become distinctly visible against the sky-line, as they run 

 along with wonderful swiftness for such tiny objects. I could 

 never bring myself to kill any of these fluffy little balls of down, 

 with their great dark eyes and abnormally long legs ; and later 

 in the autumn I have been rewarded by seeing flocks of Ken- 

 tish Sand-Plovers feeding on the green herbage which skirts the 

 harbours after the tide has receded. I once saw, from behind 

 my shelter of a mud-bank, more than forty of these pretty birds 

 feeding on the green moss near Romney Hoy, and a more in- 

 teresting sight can scarcely be imagined. 



Nest. None, the eggs being laid in a little depression of fine 

 sand, occasionally the hollow being deep enough for the eggs 

 to stand almost upright ; they have also been found on heaps 

 of sea-weed. 



Mr. Robert Read sends me a note on his experiences : 

 " The eggs of the Kentish Sand-Plover are, in my opinion, the 

 most difficult eggs of any of the Plover family to discover, at all 

 events in this country. Without watching the bird and mark- 

 ing it down on to its nest it is impossible to find the eggs. 

 Once, after watching a bird through my field-glasses for more 

 than three hours, I at length discovered a tiny fluffy young 

 one crouching amongst the shingle, and only with the greatest 

 difficulty distinguishable from its surroundings. Later on I 

 was fortunate enough, after only about fifteen minutes' watch- 

 ing, to discover a second nest with three fresh eggs. They 

 were laid on the bare shingle without the slightest pretence of 

 a hollow, much less of a nest, and so closely did their ground- 

 colour and markings assimilate to the colour and weather- 

 stained markings on the pebbles that even when standing 

 within six feet of them, if one took one's eyes off for a moment, 

 it required a very careful scrutiny before they could be again 

 recognised. I have never known more than three eggs to be 

 found in one nest." 



