LAPWING 241 



earlier, their wild cries and antics in the air expressing 

 great excitement at the approach of an intruder. 



When laying has commenced, the male, if disturbed, 

 rises and performs a series of fantastic twists and turns in 

 the air, all the while calling loudly. If his preserves be 

 invaded, he will sweep past, or dash to and fro overhead ; 

 these performances distract attention from his mate, who, 

 meanwhile, hearing the alarm-note, quietly slips off her nest 

 and flies away (fig. 32). Should one begin to search for eggs, 

 the female will join the male in endeavouring by her antics 

 to allure the collector from the spot where the eggs lie. 

 In order to find these, the movements and cries of the male 

 should be wholly discarded, while the spot where the female 

 is first seen to rise should be carefully marked ; this 

 is usually situated a few yards from a nest. When the 

 young are hatched, both parents become bold to a degree, 

 and will brush by one's face so closely that the rush of 

 their wings sounds like a gust of wind. On the intruder 

 standing still for a few minutes, the birds may be seen to 

 alight some forty yards off, as though to call attention to 

 themselves and not to their young. If on the renewal of 

 the search a nestling be discovered the excitement of the 

 parents becomes intense ; they tumble and twist rapidly 

 in the air, at the same uttering incessantly their piteous 

 cry oi pee-wee, pee-wee, pee-wee. 



Even as late as the middle of August, when the young 

 are strong on the wing, I have seen the parent-birds evincing 

 much anxiety for their offspring. 



Lapwings will remain about their breeding-haunts for 

 several days after all their eggs have been collected, after 

 which they become wary and silent. When the eggs are 

 taken late in the season, the birds soon abandon their haunts 

 without further laying. 



Geographical distribution. Beyond our Isles, the 

 breeding-range of the Lapwing extends from the Arctic 

 circle to Southern Europe ; limited numbers nest in North 

 Africa, while eastward it breeds in Northern and Central 

 Asia, reaching India in the winter. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Top of head and 

 elongated crest, 1 greenish-black ; hind-neck, back, scapulars, 



1 The crest is composed of long pointed plumes, which, when erected, 

 curve forwards and upwards. 

 16 



