108 THE OENITHOLOGIST. 



before seven o'clock, one of the birds, presumably the leader,, 

 uttered its call-note, whereupon the little flock formed once 

 more into close order and got up like one bird, making in a 

 north-westerly direction. A solitary pair of these birds may 

 be found breeding annually on the beach, not far from 

 Dungeness. But it is doubtful whether any young are ever 

 raised. 



The presence of the Wheatear here can hardly escape the 

 notice of the most unobservant. The curious sites chosen by 

 these birds for their nests, and especially is this the case down 

 here, is no safeguard against intrusion, but rather, if anything, 

 the exact opposite, for it seems to linger in the memory of the 

 bird-nesting boy, with the result that every tin can, kettle, or 

 empty shell are zealously turned over and examined, wherein 

 the "Wheatear's treasure is very often found. Though the first 

 nest be taken, it is not uncommon to find the same site 

 occupied again for the second lay. I came across a nest on the 

 Lydd Beach this summer under a disused pig trough, which 

 had been turned over. The hole by which the bird gained 

 access to its nest was no larger than that of a mouse. Another 

 was found in an empty 4-pounder shell — a pretty example, truly, 

 of peace and war. The crevices in the gabion casemates here 

 are also frequently chosen. Again, it is not unusual to find 

 the Wheatear's nest in a depression on the beach. In a case 

 like this, dry grass alone is used, the nest resembling then a 

 large edition of the lark's. The normal feather lining is 

 absent, and, in this way, conspicuousness is nicely avoided. 

 If not disturbed, the Wheatear returns annually to the same 

 nesting site. 



The Hinged Plover breeds on the Lydd Beach in fair 

 numbers, and seems to be the least affected of its genus by 

 the artillery practice. These noisy little birds course over the 

 beach all day long, uttering their whistling cries. Even the 

 Skylarks of the locality have caught their plaintive notes, 

 and they reproduce them amongst their own with startling 

 accuracy. 



Four pairs of Kentish Plover bred this season on the beach,, 

 not very far from Dungeness Lighthouse. The nest of this 

 species is, to my mind, by far the most difficult to find of all the 



