400 



THE NATURE BOOK 



subject of an acrimonious newspaper six hours, over a distance of about three 

 correspondence, and it should perhaps be miles in very rough country. To complete 

 pointed out that they are not screwed the record it is only necessary to add 

 into the animal, but entangled in the that a dog Marten had been trapped in 

 animal's fur.) The hunt lasted for nearly the neighbourhood a short time previously. 



Douglas English. 



HOW TO KNOW THE BIRDS 



By the REV. MAURICE C. H. BIRD, M.A., M.B.O.U. 



THE WADERS— I 



LEAVING the Rasorial, or Scratching 

 J birds, we now come to the fifth and 

 large order of Waders, of which the 

 Common Plover or Peewit is perhaps the 

 best known representative. In the whole 

 order the feet are long and slender ; in 

 the Plover family the toes are com- 

 paratively short, and the hind toe is 

 either wanting or rudimentary. 



\\'ith white under parts, metallic black- 

 green back, wide square tail, white tipped 

 with black, and elongated tapering crest, 

 the Peewit is as well known an object on 

 the poulterer's stall in winter, as its pyri- 

 form brown and black blotched eggs are 

 well-known delicacies much sought after 

 by moorland rustics and city epicures. 

 While it is certainly decreasing as a 

 resident, large flocks of this most useful 

 bird to agriculturists still come to winter 

 with us. Their plaintive note betrays 

 both their presence and their species. 

 The peculiar fanning noise made by their 

 large rounded wings when in flight is 

 equally distinctive, and when once recog- 

 nised will more readily serve for identi- 

 fication purposes than the call-note, for 

 in the non-breeding season their cries are 

 much curtailed. 



In the neighbourhood of marshlands 

 and mudflats, when these birds feed on 

 the u])land by day, the waterside is 

 resorted to in the evening for the purpose 

 of cleaning their beaks and feet — fouled 

 by worm and slug hunting amongst the 

 clods. Their journeys to and fro are 

 frequently intercepted by the twilight 



flight-shooter, to whom, however, they 

 offer a very uncertain mark, for they 

 somersault swiftly, and rapidly double 

 back directly they perceive danger below. 



Golden Plover are not uncommon in 

 our markets during the winter. In shape, 

 make and habits they resemble the Green 

 or Common Plover, but their upper 

 plumage is grey, thickly bespotted with 

 yellow, and they have no crest. Their 

 legs are black instead of dull flesh-colour. 

 Their call-note — " lou-ee, lou-ee " — is very 

 clear and far-reaching, and their flight 

 is \'ery rapid. 



The Grey Plover, though strictly a 

 shore bird, may easily be confounded 

 with the more frequent and highly prized 

 golden species. The two, however, may 

 readily be distinguished if it be remem- 

 bered that the more common bird has 

 no hind toe, whilst the Grey species 

 has, and that the axillary feathers of 

 the former are white, whilst they are 

 barred in the latter. The Grey Plover 

 is slightly the larger, the eyes are more 

 conspicuous, and the grey and black 

 markings on the back are more striking 

 than the pale gold spangling of the other 

 bird. In spring the white breasts of both 

 species gradually become jet black. 



Upon our sandy sea-shores some few 

 pairs of the Ringed Plover, or Ring 

 Dotterel, still remain to breed. In the 

 autumn their numbers are augmented by 

 foreign visitors, small l^lack and white 

 birds with yellow legs and beak. These 

 must not be confounded with the 



