CHARADRIIDA. 555 
THE LAPWING. 
VANELLUS VULGARIS, Bechstein. 
The Lapwing, also called the Peewit, owes the first name to the 
slow flapping of the rounded pinions, while the latter is obviously 
derived from the bird’s familiar cry. Throughout the British Islands 
this species is generally distributed and is, as a rule, resident ; 
though partial emigration from the north takes place in winter. 
Its favourite resorts are marshy pastures and moorlands, but its 
breeding-grounds, even when on flats, are usually above the risk of 
inundation, though these on the mountains seldom infringe upon 
those of the Golden Plover. In England, drainage and the increase 
of cultivation have diminished the numbers of nesting birds, but 
large flocks annually arrive from the Continent in autumn; while 
in Scotland the bird is abundant, and is on the increase in 
many of the northern districts, and the islands; it even visits St. 
Kilda every spring. In Ireland it is very common, but Sir R. 
Payne-Gallwey states that its eggs are not collected or appre- 
ciated there as they are in Great Britain, although the birds are 
freely netted for the table. 
This species occasionally wanders to Jan Mayen and Greenland, 
while it is a rare visitor to Iceland; but it breeds sparingly in the 
