PLATE II 

 RINGED PLOVER. ^Egialitis hiaticula 



June io///, 1893. We came across this nest on a gravelly part of the shore 

 on the inner Wide-Opens at the Fames. It was just about high-water mark 

 on a sloping beach of stones and gravel, among dried seaweed and driftwood. 



The little bird was very tame, and ran about within a few yards of us, 

 and we stood about fifteen yards off, and watched her go to the nest after 

 running about for a few minutes; she stood with her wings slightly elevated 

 for a few moments before settling herself upon the eggs. The nest was a 

 mere depression in the gravelly sand, lined with tiny pieces of broken shells 

 and little white pebbles, and the eggs were very nearly the same colour as 

 the surrounding gravel, which made them very hard to detect. 



On the same island I saw two tiny little downy young ones, and watched 

 them endeavouring to conceal themselves by crouching beside a stone. The 

 old birds were very anxious all the time I was at the spot, and often ran 

 within a few feet of me, calling plaintively all the time, and sometimes 

 tumbling along on the ground as if wounded. When I stooped down once to 

 pick up one of the young ones, the female actually fell over on her side, and 

 lay kicking with her legs and flapping one wing, but she would not allow me 

 to get closer to her than about five feet. I tried unsuccessfully to get a snap- 

 shot of her in this position. 



145 



