VOL. XIV.] THE AVOCET AT HOME. 



195 



fierce fight often ensues, for it is decidedly pugnacious at 

 times. Terns and Black-headed Gulls were often subjected 

 to attacks. In fact the irascible Avocets were constantly 

 picking quarrels with the Terns amongst which they nested. 

 Their movements are so sudden and swift that when fighting 

 amongst themselves or with other birds, they appear to be 

 an indistinguishable mass of feathers. I could not see whether 

 the Avocet used its bill or its feet in the attack ; but from 



AVOCET. 



Meditation . 

 {Pkotcgvaphed by E. L. Turner.) 



the angle of flight and the way in which the head is lowered, 

 possibly they let drive with the full force of their shoulders. 

 The Avocet is a sociable bird, frequently nesting in colonies, 

 or amongst other waders. It is decidedly interesting and 

 amusing when nesting with its congeners, as its social 

 qualities can then have full play ; moreover, it is not always 

 quarrelling. When the females are brooding, the males who 

 are off duty form a kind of club in the shallows. They stand 

 in little groups and all talk at once, thus making a continuous 

 chattering noise. A great deal of bowing and posing, and 

 running round each other takes place, and a variety of 



