{ 26 ) 

 A RINGED PLOVER'S "NESTS." 



BY 



T. LESLIE SMITH. 



While watching Terns on Tentsmuir, Fife, during the nesting 

 season of 1920, I was sure from the continual presence of a 

 pair of Ringed Plovers {Mgialitis hiaticula) at one particular 

 part of the shore that they had a nest near by, but it was 

 not until June 26th that I found the four eggs on a small 

 ridge at the edge of the sand-dunes. There was no nest in 

 the real sense of the word, the eggs merely lying in a slight 

 hollow in the bare sand, protected from view to a certain 

 extent by a dead branch which had been washed up by some 

 high tide. Although I was not aware of the fact at the time, 

 incubation can only just have begun, as the young did not 

 hatch out until twenty-four days later. 



The old birds were very wary and were never to be seen in 

 the immediate vicinity of the nest. Later, from observations 

 from a hiding tent, I noticed that the sitting bird rose from 

 the nest as soon as anyone came within view, and raced off 

 for a considerable distance before taking to flight. 



I made no attempt to photograph the birds at the nest 

 until July 3rd, but during the interval the hiding tent was 

 gradually moved up until it stood within a couple of yards 

 of the nest, without the Ringed Plovers resenting it. The 

 weather had been comparatively calm until then, but on 

 that day a very strong breeze sprang up and the fine sand 

 was in constant movement. In order to prevent the eggs 

 from being completely covered by the drifting sand before 

 one or other of the birds returned to the nest, a small branch 

 was placed a few inches upwind, which afforded some slight 

 protection. 



After the camera had been put into position, my brother 

 left me in the tent at 12 noon and walked out of sight, 

 accompanied for a considerable distance b}^ the Plovers, 

 which ran on ahead as though to lure the intruder from their 

 nest. In a very few minutes the four eggs were more than 

 half covered by the sand, but, fortunately, I had not long 

 to wait before the male Ringed Plover suddenly appeared 

 behind the nest. He was obviously agitated, apparently 

 not on account of the tent or the staring eye of the camera, 

 which he completely ignored, but at the steadily drifting 

 sand. He fidgeted about, taking two or three steps in one 

 direction, then a few in another, turning this way and that 



