BIRDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
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just back of the beach, places her eggs on the bare ground, with not so 
much as a bit of sea-weed or of grass beneath them. The merest apology 
of a nest is often denied them. 
The number of eggs deposited varies from one to two, the latter being 
the ordinary number. Instances are recorded where as many as three 
have been found as a nest-complement, but there certainly must be some 
mistake, which could easily happen in localities where many birds are 
breeding together. Where more than one is laid, a day usually intervenes 
between the two deposits. Nothing is more difficult to find, even vdien 
plentiful, than the eggs of this species, owing to the similarity of their color 
to the surroundings. Their ground sometimes presents a greenish-white 
color, but tends more to olivaceous or dull drab. The markings are 
numerous, pretty generally diffused, but when of large size, are mostly 
wreathed about the larger extremity. They consist of irregular blotches 
and dots of different shades of brown, interspersed with numerous obscure 
spots of lilac. Their average measurements are 1.26 by 1.02 inches. 
Having committed her treasures to mother-earth, the female has little 
else to do than to guard them from harm. The heat of the sand, when 
the skies are undimmed by cloud or mist, is sufficient for hatching pur- 
poses. The application of living heat, so to speak, is unnecessary, and it 
is even a question in our minds whether the female could endure the 
inconvenience and trials of the incubating process, in the midst of a broil- 
ing sun upon a sandy sea-shore. But during wet and stormy weather, and 
at night, this duty is actually incumbent upon her. 
The appearance of the young, after a period of sixteen or seventeen 
days, brings the parents nearer together, and keeps them more at home. 
While kind and affectionate to each other, it is the attention which they 
bestow upon their happy little family that commands our admiration, and 
gives special prominence to their character. With true parental instinct 
they watch over their early helplessness, and provide them with an 
abundance of wholesome diet. Beetles, spiders, crickets and other insects. 
