12 



CASSELL'S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



performing the tooth-clearing operation the ancients attributed to it, and which many modern 

 writers have declared to be fabulous. Insects of all kinds, worms, small fish, mussels, and, according 

 to some authorities, scraps of meat, and occasionally seeds, form the principal diet of the Crocodile- 

 Watcher. Only once, in spite of all our endeavours, could we discover the carefully-concealed eggs. 

 After many fruitless efforts our attention was attracted whilst looking through a telescope by a pair 

 of birds, one of which was sitting in the sand, and the other running hither and thither in the 

 immediate vicinity. Using every precaution we approached, but were no sooner observed than 

 the brooding parent arose, and after going hurriedly to a short distance, joined its mate, and 



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1 1 Vi I 



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m k. 



A 



THE COLLARED pratincole (Glareola pratincola). 



both together walked slowly from the spot wdth such a wonderful affectation of indifference, that 

 we were completely taken in, and should not have carried our investigations any further had not 

 a slight unevenness of the ground caught our eye. On removing the sand, two beautiful eggs 

 were brought to light, having a reddish yellow shell, dotted and marked in a variety of ways. 



The PRATINCOLES, or SWALLOW-WINGED WADERS (TrachelitB), are recognisable at 

 once by the swallow-like formation of their long wings, in which the first quill exceeds the rest in 

 length ; by their long, straight, or forked tail composed of fourteen feathers, and their slender bare 

 legs. The toes, four in number, are very slender, the three in front are connected by a skin, and 

 furnished with narrow, sharp, and almost straight claws. The plumage, which varies but little either 

 in the sexes or at different seasons of the year, is very similar in all the species. 



The Pratincoles, or Sea Partridges as they are called on the Continent, inhabit the temperate 



