AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 23 



In the winter months the Grey Plover seems to 

 keep pretty exclusively to the neighbourhood of salt 

 water, and feeds chiefly on marine insects and small 

 shells. In the harbour of Santander these birds 

 seemed to prefer the company of Turnstones {Strep- 

 silas interpres), amongst rocks and seaweed, to that 

 of the many other wading-birds that frequent the 

 muds and sandbanks. 



The flesh of the Grey Plover is much inferior 

 to that of the Golden. These birds thrive well in 

 captivity and are very hardy. 



139. GREEN PLOVER, LAPWING, PEEWIT. 



Vanellus cristatus. 



This well-known bird is more or less common at 

 most seasons of the year in our county, though not 

 so abundant with us in the breeding-season as it is 

 in moorland or other districts less constantly troubled 

 by the presence of man, and the beasts that require 

 his constant care and attention. Without any precise 

 data, I think that I am justified in fixing the extreme 

 number of Peewits breeding on our Lilford shooting- 

 grounds at from 30 to 35 pairs, and should not put 

 the average higher than 20 pairs *. Our winter 

 flocks, which have certainly greatly increased in 

 numbers of late years, split up into pairs in March, 

 and the few that remain vdth us are to be found at 

 their nesting-places about the third week of that 

 month. With us at Lilford most of the nests are 



* The number of Peewits breeding about Lilford has greatly 

 increased since the above paragraph was written. 



