APRIL 109 



rural landscape. Then its jaunty crest, lustrous brown 

 eyes, rosy feet and legs, and lively movements, combine 

 to render it the handsomest of all British plovers. 



It may be argued that, seeing lapwings are so abund- 

 ant in these isles, there can be no harm in shooting 

 them, especially as their flesh is quite wholesome and 

 tolerably palatable. Well, it must be admitted that, 

 although already far scarcer than formerly in some 

 districts, there is no sign of diminution in the numbers 

 of this species in others. Remember what has happened 

 to our ruffs and reeves not distantly related to lap- 

 wings. Once nesting abundantly in the eastern counties 

 of England, ruffs are scarcely known there now, except 

 as straggling passengers in autumn, so greedily have 

 they been persecuted. If it were desired to extirpate 

 a noxious kind of bird, the best way to set about it 

 would be to collect all the eggs possible in spring, and 

 shoot the parent bird during the rest of the year. This 

 is exactly what we are doing to the lapwings. Each 

 year a larger number of the adult birds are sent to the 

 London market, and may be seen in spring offered for 

 sale in the same shops with their eggs. 



I write in the hope of enlisting the sympathy of 

 sportsmen, county council men, farmers, and all lovers 

 of Nature, in order that this senseless and inhuman 

 treatment may be stopped. It is senseless, because if 

 you kill the bird that lays the plovers' eggs, where will 

 you get your eggs? It is inhuman, because there is 

 not a single other species of wild bird of which civilised 

 man eats, and is allowed to offer for sale both parents 



