270 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



their proper place. If on the ground, it then moves forward 

 slowly and deliberately, nodding at every step as if in emphatic 

 approval of its surroundings and its sagacity in selecting so suit- 

 able a spot, and pays its attention to such insects as may catch 

 its eye, uttering at times a peculiarly mournful sound, quite dif- 

 ferent from its usual flute-like cry, to be answered possibly 

 from out the heavens above by some comrade not yet distin- 

 guishable to the naked eye. The flight of the Upland Plover 

 is well sustained and swift, and often performed (as will be 

 imagined from the above) at a great height j indeed, so lofty at 

 times that its voice alone indicates its presence, the bird being 

 fairly out of si^ht. It will alight indiscriminately on the ground, 

 fence, telegraph-pole, or, as has been noticed, even on a barn. 

 When mated the pair keep close company, seeking food to- 

 gether, and are rarely separated by any distance." 



Nest. " The nest is placed on the plain or prairie in some 

 open spot, frequently near some water. It is not much of a 

 structure, just a little grass in a depression of the ground ; but 

 almost impossible to find at any time, even when the bird is on 

 the eggs, so admirably does her plumage harmonise with that 

 of her surroundings." 



Eggs. Four in number, clay-colour, spotted all over with 

 dark brown, and purplish-grey. 



THE RUFFS. GENUS PAVONCELLA. 



Pavoncella, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. and Birds, Brit. Mus. 

 p. 29 (1816). 



Type, P. pugnax (L.). 



The extraordinary difference in the plumage of the sexes of 

 the Ruff constitutes, perhaps, the most remarkable characteris- 

 tic of the genus Pavoncella, which contains but a single species. 

 It may almost be said with truth that scarcely two males are 

 alike in plumage. The breast-shield and ruff, which the bird 

 dons at the period of the nesting- season, is one of the most 

 striking nuptial garments of any bird in the world. 



I. THE RUFF. PAVONCELLA PUGNAX. 



Tringa pugnax, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 247 (1766). 



