The call-note of the Ringed Plover is a short ' trrr' somewhat harsh 

 in tone, which, in the pairing season, is repeated so rapidly that it forms 

 a sort of soft trill. The alarm-note is a plaintive ' koo-it' which, though not 

 very loud, is a very penetrating sound, and may be heard a long way off. 

 During the breeding season the male may often be seen flying round and 

 round in a zigzag course like a snipe, uttering a rapidly repeated call which 

 may be represented by the syllables, ' pgr-lit, figr-lit, pSr-lit^ the accent being 

 on the last syllable. 



The food of the Ringed Plover consists of shrimps, small sand-worms, 

 sand-lice, and various small marine creatures. It also catches the insects 

 as they fly about on the sand or rise from the decaying seaweed. 



Early in April the large flocks of Ringed Plovers break up, and scattering 

 in small parties choose out nesting sites. They are quite social birds even 

 during the breeding season, and in some localities may be found nesting quite 

 close to each other. The Ringed Plover does not trouble itself much in 

 the construction of its nest, but contents itself with scratching a slight hollow 

 in the sand or gravel, sometimes lining it with tiny pieces of broken shells. 

 In some cases the eggs are deposited in a natural hollow, sometimes in a 

 footprint and occasionally on the bare sand. On the slightest alarm the 

 sitting bird slips quietly off the nest and, running swiftly away, rises at some 

 distance from the nest and is joined by her mate, when the pair will wheel 

 round the intruder uttering their plaintive alarm-note, and trying to draw 

 him away from the vicinity of their treasure. The nest is very difficult to 

 find, as the eggs almost exactly resemble in colour the sand on which they 

 are placed. On two or three occasions, after a long, careful search, I have 

 been at length rewarded by finding the nest within a few inches of some 

 of my previous footprints. Only one brood is reared in the year, though, 

 if the first nest be taken, the birds will generally make another nest not 

 far off. 



The eggs laid are usually four in number and are not subject to very 

 much variation in colour. They are pale buff in ground colour, spotted pretty 

 evenly all over with very dark brown and with a few grey undermarkings, 

 though on some specimens the spots are most numerous on the large end 

 of the egg. They are very pyriform in shape as a rule, and vary from r6 to 

 i '3 inch in length, and from ro to '9 inch in breadth. 



Young in down are greyish-brown mottled with dark brown on the upper 

 parts, and have traces of the black-and-white collar round the neck, and the 

 under-parts are white. 



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