Order XIII. Limicolce 



189 



shingles in Kent, but the majority pass on to East 

 Anglia. though a limited number breed elsewhere on 

 our downs and heath-lands as far north as Yorkshire. 

 Two big stone-coloured eggs with grey and brown 

 spots or scrawls are laid in April or May in a shallow 

 hole scratched in the ground, which is almost always 

 lined with rabbits' dung ; the hen-bird will sit very 



stone-Curlew 



t 



closely if taken unawares, but usually rises two or 

 three hundred yards ahead of an intruder. The downy 

 young are rather sluggish, and are very difficult to find 

 when they squat on the ground to escape notice. The 

 mournful call of the Stone-Curlew is of the same nature 

 as that of the Golden Plover, and is louder after dusk 

 than in daylight ; its food consists mainly of moUusks, 

 worms, and insects ; its flight is low and in summer-time 



