LAPWINGS IN THE PAIRING SEASON. 308 



worked neighbouring field where food may be abundant, or the 

 male to engage in song-flight excursions and harmless aerial 

 encounters with other males, but sooner or later both return to 

 the chosen ground. On the occurrence of coition, however, 

 which first takes place a few days before egg-laying, a renewed 

 activity is shown. Immediately following this rite the female 

 proceeds straight to the scrape, and works in it with energy and 

 thoroughness hitherto unequalled, the male frequently taking 

 his place in a neighbouring scrape. Between her bouts of 

 energetic foot-work the female plays with stubbles, jerking them 

 over her shoulder. Exceptionally she so behaves when standing 

 facing the scrape, thus dropping the nest-material in a direction 

 contrary to the right one. In all their nest-building activities, 

 in fact, both sexes behave in a strangely haphazard way, as 

 though quite unconscious of what they are about. Since it is 

 somewhat difficult to believe that the scanty lining which the 

 nest-hollows receive can be of any practical utility to the 

 species, one is tempted to regard the proceeding as possibly a 

 degenerate survival of what was once a more perfect nest- 

 building instinct in the earlier history of the race. On the 

 other hand, it has been suggested that natural selection, acting 

 on such rudimentary activities, may so develop the nest-building 

 art ; but it is not easy to understand what scope natural selection 

 has in the present instance. 



In the absence of her mate, the female shows her dislike or 

 distrust of the approach of a strange male by running from 

 his unwelcome advances, even taking wing to avoid him. Such 

 encroachment rarely occurs during the presence of the legitimate 

 male. The bird in possession, in fact, enjoys a strong moral 

 advantage, which is seldom overcome. I have noted no serious 

 attempt by unpaired males to forcibly deprive a male of his mate. 



From the facts available it would appear that the scrape 

 used by the female after coition is the one which is destined to 

 contain the eggs ; in some cases, at least, this is certainly the 

 case, and it is probably the general rule. 



When an egg has been deposited, I have seen the male 

 proceed to the nest as though with the intention of scraping, 

 but on reaching it he contented himself with standing erect 

 over it, moving his tail gently up and down, and plucking at 



