31 [ Vol. xl. 
Sarciophorus I had a bird shot from the nest of each type 
of egg, and the two skins were identified by Mr. Baker as 
those of Sarctophorus malabaricus. 
My collectors have since worked these hills from April to 
August for the past five seasons, and collected a magnificent 
series of both olive and red eggs. The only other eggs they 
have found on the same ground have been a few clinbaliad of 
Nightjar, Bush-Lark, and the Indian Courser. 
Out of the first 100 nests of Sarciophorus of which I kept 
notes, 63 contained the usual grey or olive-coloured eggs, 
and 37 nests contained the brick-red type. The whole 
100 nests were taken within five or six miles from the west 
coast, as the crow flies. 
T am often asked if both types of eggs are found on the 
same hill, and my reply is that here is no hard-and-fast 
rule, as nests of both types have been found occasionally 
within a few yards of each other amongst grass and cover, 
as well as on bare and open ground. 
On the other hand, it is interesting to note that out of 
63 nests of the ordinary olive-coloured eggs, 45 were found 
amongst grass and scrub on the darker soil, and only 18 on 
the bare red ground. 
Out of 37 nests of the red type 24 were on bare hills, and 
only 13 amongst grass and scrub. 
All the nests were practically alike—just a hole or depres- 
sion in the ground, sometimes lined with a few straws or 
dry leaves. 
I have not seen any breeding-ground of this Lapwing in 
other parts of India or Ceylon, but so far no eggs of the 
red type have been recorded from anywhere else, and it is 
clear to me that Sarciophorus eggs of the Malabar coast have 
been successfully evolved to resemble the colour of the 
laterite soil. 
There is another common Lapwing in Southern India— 
Sarcogrammus indicus (or Red-wattled Lapwing),—it is a 
much larger bird, a permanent resident, and has a wide 
distribution; it breeds chiefly on sandy river-beds or near 
water, not on the red laterite hills, and though I have seen a 
