THE LAPWING. 451 



and deliberate movement, but on foot it is very swift, and tests the 

 speed of dog and horse before it can be captured. 



The nest — if a hole in the ground may be called a nest — of this bird 

 is generally made among corn, rye, etc., although it is sometimes sit- 

 uated in rather unexpected localities. The eggs are two or three in 

 number, and of an olive-brown color splashed with light brown in 

 which a green tinge is perceptible. The food of the bird is almost 

 wholly of a vegetable nature, though it is said to feed occasionally 

 upon mice, lizards, and other small vertebrates. The flesh of the Bus- 

 tard is very excellent, but the extreme rarity of the bird prevents it 

 from being often seen upon English tables. When caught young the 

 Bustard can readily be tamed, and soon becomes quite familiar with 

 those who treat it kindly. , 



The head and upper part of the neck are grayish white, and upon 

 the side of the neck there is a small patch of slaty blue bare skin, al- 

 most concealed by the curious feather tuft which hangs over it. The 

 upper part of the body is pale chestnut barred with black, and the 

 tail is of similar tints with a white tip, and a very broad black band 

 next to the white extremity. The wing-coverts, together with the ter- 

 tials, are white, and the primaries black. The under surface of the body 

 is white. The total length of an adult male is about forty-five inches. 



The Wading Birds are well furnished with legs and feet formed for 

 walking, and in many species the legs are greatly elongated, so as to 

 enable them to walk in the water while they pick their food out of the 

 waves. 



In the British Museum the Plovers head the list of Waders. 



The well-known Lapwing, or Peewit, is celebrated for many rea- 

 sons. Its wheeling, flapping flight is so peculiar as to attract the notice 

 of every one who has visited the localities in which it resides, and its 

 strange, almost articulate, cry is equally familiar. When it fears danger, 

 it rises from its nest, or rather from the eggs, into the air, and contin- 

 ually wheels around the intruder, its black and white plumage flashing 

 out as it inclines itself in its flight, and its mournful cry almost fatiguing 

 the ear with its piercing frequency. " Wee-whit! wee-e-whit!" fills the 

 air as the birds endeavor to draw aw^ay attention from their home, and 

 the look and cry are so weird-like that the observer ceases to wonder 

 at the superstitious dread in which these birds were formerly held. 

 The French call the Lapwing '' Dix-hmt'' from its cry. 



It is the male bird which thus soars above and around the intruder, 

 the female sitting closely on her eggs until disturbed, when she runs 

 away, tumbling and flapping about as if she had broken her wing, in 

 hopes that the foe may give chase and so miss her eggs. It is certain- 

 ly very tempting, for she imitates the movements of a wounded bird 

 with marvellous fidelitv. 



