WADERS. 291 



feet. Its nest is a loose heap of straws on the ground, and con- 

 tains two pale brown eggs, spotted with brown, rather larger than 

 those of the turkey. 



The Plovers are known by their long legs, short toes, and 

 long, powerful wings. The Stone Curlew, or Norfolk Plover, is 

 common in England., and is to be found on open plains. White 

 gives an accurate description of the bird in 

 his Natural History of Selborne. "The 

 history of the Stone Curlew is as follows. 

 It lays its eggs, usually two, never more 

 •^han three, on the bare ground, without 

 any nest in the field, so that the country- 

 man in stirring his fallows often destroys 

 them. The young run immediately from 

 the egg, like partridges, etc., and are with- 

 drawn to some flinty field by the dam, where 



" •' ' Long-legged Plover. 



they skulk among the stones, which are 



their best security ; for their feathers are so exactly of. the color 



of our grey spotted flints, that the most exact observer, unless he 



catches the eye of the young bird, may be eluded. The eggs are 



short and round, of a dirty white, spotted with dark bloody 



blotches." 



The Crane is a large bird, about five feet in length. The 

 bill is more than four inches long. The feathers are ash-colored, 

 the forehead is black, and on the upper part of the neck there is 

 a space of about two inches, ash-colored and bare. At the tip of 

 each wing there is a beautiful tuft of loose feathers, which the 

 animal can erect at pleasure. The legs are long and stout, with a 

 large naked space above the knee, and their toes are long. There 

 is a peculiarity about their windpipe. It runs considerably down 

 their breast, then returns at the same passage, and descends to the 

 lungs. 



Cranes inhabit Europe and Asia ; and in autumn they regu- 

 larly migrate in flocks to the southern parts of Asia and Africa. 

 In Sweden and Poland they are so numerous as to become inju- 

 rious to the fields of wheat. The female makes her nest among 



