306 THE LAPWING. 



and hops prowling about in the moors, uttering his 

 hoarsely-whispered croak, and preying upon the eggs 

 of all the birds that nestle there, without mercy or 

 discrimination. But woe be to him when the lapwing 

 catches him in the air. She wheels in curves so mazy, 

 that instead of a carrion crow, not the best mathema- 

 tician could determine the form of her orbit, so as to 

 know where she is to be at the end of the next second 

 of time. She is above, below, on every side, all in 

 the same instant, you would think ; and the poor crow 

 (for one pities even a carrion crow in such company) is 

 quite bewildered. Well, so he may ; for the lapwing hits 

 him a bang on the one side, and before he can turn his 

 lumbering neck, to find out where it came from, or how 

 to avoid another, bounce comes her strong wing against 

 the other side of his head, with so much force that 

 you may hear it at a considerable distance. He gene- 

 rally attempts to get down upon the ground for safety ; 

 but the lapwing, though no match for him on foot, so 

 stoops at and works him even there, that there is an 

 end to his egg-sucking while she has him in charge. 



The LAPWING (vanellus crestatus) is a bird about 

 fourteen inches long, and more than thirty in the ex- 

 pansion of the wings. The bill is about an inch long, 

 slender, and thickened a little at the point. The legs, 

 which are of a dull orange colour, are slender ; but the 

 figure is remarkably compact ; and the plumage is as 

 smooth on the surface as if it were one polished body. 

 The crown of the head, and the crest, in which the 

 nape terminates, as well as the breast, are of an intense 

 glossy black. It is a curious black, however, being 



