Bird Notes 
To the last picture, the one (by the same 
photographer) of the active 
young Iapwing forms an in- 
teresting contrast. The Green 
Plover, as this bird is sometimes called, is 
quite the best known of British birds of its 
family, and has a wide range outside our 
islands—right across the Old World, in fact ; 
while it even strays to Greenland and Alaska. 
Very praiseworthy attempts have been made 
to acclimatize this pretty and useful bird 
in New Zealand, where it would be a highly 
desirable colonist if it could be established. 
Everyone is familiar with the lapwing’s 
“prayerful ery,” which has given it names 
in several languages—Peewit in Enelish and 
Kiebitz in German, for example. The bird 
has also been long notorious for the artifices 
it practises to decoy intruders from its young, 
skilfully feignmg a broken wing on such 
oceasions. Perhaps this is what Chaucer 
alludes to when he speaks of “the false 
lapwing, full of treachery.’ later than 
Chaucer, however, the lapwing proved really 
treacherous to the hunted Covenanters by 
mobbing them when in hiding, and thus 
betraying them to their persecutors. Young 
lapwings, as most people know, run at once, 
but they attain a considerable size before 
they are able to fly; and when fledged they 
may be distinguished from their parents by 
having their glossy bronze-green upper 
plumage tipped with yellow. Although the 
lapwing is a good bird for the table, it seems 
a shame to lull for food a bird so useful to 
the farmer and so ornamental, when it also 
supplies a far greater delicacy in the shape 
of the well-known “ plovers’ eggs.” 
Young 
Lapwing. 
ae 
THE pretty little long-tailed bird shown in 
: the accompanying illustration 
(a photograph by Mr. C. N. 
Mavroyeni, of Smyrna) is the 
hen of the Bearded Reedling (Panwrus 
biarmicus), often incorrectly called the 
Bearded Tit. The photograph gives a good 
general idea of the bird, but unavoidably 
fails to do justice to its colour, which is 
of a beautiful warm buff over most of the 
plumage. The male bird is distinguished by 
The Bearded 
Reedling. 
a French- 
grey head 
and a pair of 
long black 
tufts at the 
corners of 
the mouth, 
ludicrously 
like mous- 
taches. The 
young cocks 
naturally 
enough start 
life without 
these ap- 
pendages. 
The reed- 
ling is not 
a migra- 
tory bird, 
but has a 
wide range, 
being found 
through 
Most of 
Europe, and 
AG ise as 
Central 
Agia. ir 
inhabits 
marshes, 
climbing 
actively 
among the 
reeds, and 
feeding on 
their seeds 
and on small 
Insects and 
snails. It 
builds an 
open cup- 
shaped nest 
of grass 
lined with 
reed flowers, 
and the eggs 
are creamy- 
white with 
blackish 
markings, 
405 
YOUNG LAPWING. 
THE BEARDED REEDLING. 
