PLOVERS OR LAPWINGS. 27 



nobbut what I can do a day's work an' get 

 my livin' now as well as ever, if needs be." 



I was surprised to see the immense flocks 

 of plovers, or, as they are variously called, 

 Lapwings or Peewits, that hover about this 

 farm. In every country where this bird is 

 found it seems to get a name after its pecu- 

 liar cry. The French say the cry is perfectly 

 characterized by the two syllables dix-huit; 

 it is sometimes called re-wit and tre-wit. I 

 have never tasted plover. 



There is a French proverb which says, 

 " He who has never eaten the right wing of 

 a lapwing has not eaten de bon morceau? 

 Bewick says that in the month of October 

 they are very fat, and are then " said to be 

 very excellent eating" from which it may be 

 inferred that he had never tasted one. I 

 have not met with anyone who has eaten 

 plover. 



" There's some kinds of fishes that's better 

 than others," says Mrs. Alenside, " but, as a 

 general rule, a fish is a fish, and if you catch 

 'em you can eat 'em ; but it's a very different 

 thing with birds. When you've never seen 

 'em before, how are you goin' to tell but what 

 they're some kin to an owl, a pigeon-hawk, 

 or a crow ? " 



I had an idea that a plover was tainted 



