NESTING HABITS OF THE EINGED PLOVER. 449 



the interior of the rabbit-warren, where the Lapwings breed. 

 Their eggs are frequently laid in the small hollows scraped by the 

 rabbits, and the dry pellets left by these animals serve to line the 

 bottom of the nest instead of the usual pavement of white pebbles 

 or broken shells. The eggs laid here are almost always much 

 darker in colour than the ordinary type, approximating somewhat 

 to the tint of the moss with which the ground is carpeted. In 

 one nest a considerable quantity of moss and scraps of bent was 

 placed under the eggs. 



Not only do the eggs of this bird resemble the surroundings 

 amidst which they are deposited, as may be seen from the 

 accompanying illustration, but the colour of the bird itself is 

 also protective. The grey tint of the dorsal plumage so closely 

 resembles the shingle or sand upon which it loves to alight, that 

 so long as it remains motionless it is almost invisible, and its 

 melodious pipe, as it rises close at hand, is often the first intimation 

 given of its presence. 



So likewise with the downy young. When first hatched, though 

 able to run, they usually seek safety by crouching motionless 

 amongst the shingle, and so beautifully do their tints harmonize 

 with the mottled greys and browns of the surrounding pebbles, as 

 almost to defy detection. This is well exemplified in a case in 

 the Bird Gallery of the British Museum, wherein a pair of old 

 Ringed Plovers are mounted with three downy young ones upon 

 a patch of shingle. At first glance only two of the young ones 

 are conspicuously visible, by reason of their being placed in a 

 standing position ; a third, which is crouching amongst the peb- 

 bles, has to be actually looked for before its presence is detected. 

 This is one of the most beautiful instances of protective resem- 

 blance to be met with amongst birds. 



I may add that in a third photograph forwarded by Mr. 

 Salmon, showing the nest of a Kentish Plover on shingle, the 

 eggs are more readily detected by reason of the slight collection 

 of drift wood and other materials which have been placed round 

 them by the parent bird. This, however, is not an invariable 

 habit, for, as in the case of certain Terns, sometimes we find a 

 rough attempt at a nest, at other times the eggs are laid in a bare 

 depression. 



