SPUR-WING LAPWING 183 



in a compact flock; they divide into sets of three 

 birds each, then hover for some time, all waving 

 their wings exactly in time and screaming their notes 

 in unison, and these movements seem like an imita- 

 tion in the air of the usual marching and drumming 

 performance on the ground. 



The breeding-season of the Terus begins as early 

 as the month of Jime in favourable seasons ; severe 

 cold, drought, or other causes sometimes delay it to 

 August. The nest is a shallow circular hollow made 

 by the bird on the level plain, and lined with broken 

 grass-stems and small fragments of thistle-stalks ; 

 the eggs are four, rather sharply pointed at one end, 

 and have an olive-green ground coloiur spotted with 

 black. The eggs in different nests vary greatly in 

 size, ground colour, and in the amount of black they 

 are marked with, no two birds laying eggs exactly 

 alike. 



While the female is on the nest the male keeps 

 watch at a distance of twenty or thirty yards, and 

 utters a low warning cry in case of danger. The 

 female leaves the nest sometimes by running, but 

 oftener flies from it, and by marking the spot she 

 rises from it is easy to find the nest on the open level 

 pampas. In the course of a morning's ride I have 

 picked up as many as sixty-four eggs. During 

 incubation the birds are excessively watchful and 

 jealous, their irritability increasing with the growth 

 of the chick in the shell; and at that time they 

 will attack any bird of prey approaching the nest 

 with great fury. When approached by a human 



