CHARADKIIFOKMES. 401 



to. These birds were at one time united with others to form 

 the order of "AVaders" {(h'allatores). 



The Gharadriiihu- or Plovers have the bill compressed at the 

 tip and seldom longer than the head. The toes are short and 

 the hind one (hallux) absent or very small. The plovers can 

 both run and fly fast. Their food consists mainly of animal 

 substance, such as worms, snails, slugs, and insects, which they 

 hunt for in meadows and marshes and on mudflats. The 

 young are precocious. The eggs are laid, with little nesting 

 substance, on the ground. Some are partially migratory, such 

 as the Dotterel (JEudromias morinellus) and the Golden Plover 

 (0. pluvialis). The commonest species is the Lapwing ( Vanellus 

 crkfcdux). 



The Lapwing is also called the Peewit or Green Plover. It 

 is generally distributed throughout Great Britain, and is, as a 

 rule, resident ; but migrations take place from the north to the 

 south in very cold winters. Numbers also arrive from the 

 Continent in the autumn. The lapwing is partial to marshy 

 lands and moorlands, and may also be seen feeding in numbers 

 on mud-flats. The curious curved crest of feathers on the head 

 at once identifies it. Head, crest, and breast are glossy black ; 

 throat, neck, and abdomen -white ; the back dark-green and 

 metallic ; tail black and white ; legs and feet orange-red ; bill 

 dull reddish-brown. The female does not differ much from the 

 male, but the young birds have the dorsal feathers edged with 

 buff and the crest shorter. The nest is formed in a depression 

 in the ground, especially in pasture and fallow lands ; a few 

 pieces of grass and stalks are added during incubation. The 

 eggs are laid from the end of March to June, the majority in 

 April. Four or five are laid in each nest ; they are olive-green 

 with dark-brown blotches, but may have a grey or even blue 

 ground-colour. The female when disturbed runs rapidly away 

 from her nest, the male at the same time rising and twirling 

 about in the air, uttering its shrill note to allure the enemy 

 from the nest and young. Like most birds in this group, the 



2 C 



