BIRDS' NESTS 103 



crevices, etc. — make very little pretence at build- 

 ing a homestead, there are others which are not 

 content with a few sticks, straws, and other 

 materials, and which, by dint of great persever- 

 ance, construct remarkable nests, beautiful to 

 behold. 



The Lapwing, that typical bird of the meadow, 

 whose weird cry and engaging habits cannot fail 

 to arrest attention; the Ringed Plover; the 

 Nightjar; the Stone Curlew or Norfolk Plover; 

 and several other kinds of feathered fowl, which lay 

 their eggs upon the bare ground, the pebbly beach, 

 or the sandy shore, practically make no nest at all. 

 A mere furrow or depression in the meadow is 

 sufficient for the Lapwing; among the round 

 pebbles on the beach suits the Ringed Plover 

 admirably; the useful Nightjar places her two 

 marbled eggs on the bare ground near woodland, 

 perhaps under the cover of bracken or among 

 bleached stones; the Stone Curlew follows a 

 similar course to the last-named, but resorts to 

 desolate waste lands; Woodpeckers, Wrynecks, 

 and Nuthatches make their homes in the hole of a 

 tree, and with the exception of the debris which 

 congregates whilst the woodland carpenter birds 

 are at work, little material (if any) is used. The 

 Kingfisher makes its untidy home in the river 

 bank, the bones of fish constituting the furnishing 

 of the apartment. 



