22 CASSEIX'S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



The Peewits occupy every latitude, and are met with in the most diverse situations, for whilst 

 some species exclusively seek the vicinity of water or marshy ground, others frequent arid plains or the 

 burning sands of the desert. In disposition they are lively, and possess such a restless curiosity 

 concerning every object around them as frequently renders them most troublesome to the sportsman, 

 whose insidious approach they at once proclaim to all their feathered companions. All the members 

 of this family, though social in their habits, live almost constantly in pairs, which remain together even 

 during the winter migrations ; indeed, it is probable that at this season even the young have each a 

 chosen companion. Insects, worms, and similar fare afford them the means of subsistence ; but they 

 also occasionally consume seeds, young leaves, and shoots. The nest is merely a hollow in the 

 ground more or less slightly lined, and contains four eggs. The flesh of these birds is hard and 

 indigestible. 



THE PEEWIT, OR LAPWING. 



The Peewit, or Lapwing ( Vanellus cristatus), represents a division of the above group having four 

 toes upon the foot, blunt wings, and a crest upon the head. The crown, fore part of the throat, upper 

 breast, and half the tail, are glossy black ; the mantle-feathers deep green, with a blue or purple gloss ; 

 the sides of the neck, lower breast, body, and lower half of the tail are white, and some of the feathers 

 on the upper and lower tail-covers dark rusty yellow. The crest is composed of long narrow feathers. 

 The female has a smaller crest, and the fore parts of the throat spotted black and white. The young 

 resemble the mother, but are duller in their tints, and have broad rust-yellow feathers on the upper 

 portion of the body. In all the eye is brown, the beak black, and the foot dirty red. This species 

 is thirteen inches long and twenty-seven broad ; the wing measures eight inches and a half, and the 

 tail four inches. (See Coloured Plate XXXIII.) 



The Lapwing occupies a wide range, extending from 6i° north latitude, as far as Northern 

 India and North Africa. In some parts of China it is as common as in Great Britain. Some 

 writers are of opinion that this Peewit breeds in Spain, but, according to our own observations, it 

 only appears in that land at the end of October, and leaves again to go north at the beginning 

 of March. Radde mentions having seen it on the Amur, being particularly numerous at Tarai- 

 Noor ; strange to say, such as he observed did not remain in the vicinity of the water during the 

 summer, but occupied dry and barren steppes throughout the whole season of incubation. In India, 

 according to Jerdon, this species is only found in the Punjaub, where it breeds. The Peewit is 

 especially numerous in Holland, and is generally distributed over the British Isles, except in the 

 extreme north of Scotland and the Hebrides, everywhere occupying moorlands, downs, and swampy 

 lands, and depositing its four eggs in a slight hollow, which is lined with a few straws or blades of 

 grass. The eggs are pyriform, and have a pale brownish yellow or olive-coloured shell, prettily spotted 

 and marked with brownish black. The young leave the nest as soon as they are hatched, and 

 if alarmed, at once take refuge in the moss or grass. Both parents exhibit great affection and anxiety 

 for their young, and should a stranger venture to approach the nest, fly around him, and use every 

 endeavour to lure him from the spot, sometimes running as if lame, or fluttering as though with 

 a broken wing to tempt pursuit ; nevertheless, in spite of all her arts, the Lapwing's nest is frequently 

 rifled, and numbers of eggs are sent to the London market. According to Mr. Selby, the trade 

 of collecting them continues about two months, and great expertness in the discovery of the nests 

 is shown by those accustomed to it. They generally judge of their situation pretty accurately by the 

 conduct of the female birds, who, upon being disturbed, invariably fly from the nest, and then run near 

 the ground for a short distance without uttering any alarm cry. The males on the contrary are very 

 clamorous, and fly round the intruder, endeavouring by various instinctive arts to divert his attention. 

 So expert, says another observer, have some men become, that they will not only walk straight 



