COMMON THICK-KNEE. 
4GI 
the spring and summer, departing about October, 
except in unusually mild seasons, when some will 
stay the whole winter, as mentioned before. It is 
seldom observed during the day, except surprised, 
when it suddenly flies to some distance, and ge- 
nerally escapes before the sportsman comes within 
gun-shot. It runs with great* velocity for some 
time, and then stops short, holding its head and 
body still, and on the least noise squats close on 
the ground. In the evening it comes out in search 
of food, and utters its singular cry, which is com- 
pared to the turning of a rusty handle : its food 
consists of worms, caterpillars, toads, and such 
like, and according to the observ’ations of Mr. 
Haworth, it preys upon the larvae of Lasiocampa 
Trifolii, to procure which it turns over the stones 
beneath which they are secreted. 
It does not construct any nest, but deposits its 
eggs in a small excavation on the bare ground, or 
sheltered by two or three stones : the eggs are 
twm or three in number, of a greyish white, blotched 
and streaked with dusky olive ; they are hatched 
in about thirty days. The young run almost 
immediately they are excluded, and the female 
leads them to some stony field, where they are dif- 
ficult to discover, as they greatly resemble the 
stones in colour : they are sometimes hatched late 
in the autumu, about October. 
