32 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



species is very abundant in Southern Spain, where it 

 makes its appearance in April, and breeds in the 

 open marshes, making a shght nest of dry grass or 

 fragments of reed, often on the bare mud, occasionally 

 in a tuft of soft rushes, and now and then actually 

 on the water-weeds that cover the surface of the 

 shallow pools of rain-water in the depressions of these 

 great plains. The eggs, four in number, are laid in 

 the first fortnight of May, and in shape and character 

 of markings somewhat resemble those of the Peewit ; 

 but their ground-colour differs in being of a warm 

 stone-colour, from the almost invariably green tinge 

 of those of the last-named bird. We generally met 

 with the nests of the Stilt in groups of from a dozen 

 to tnirty or forty in a colony, occupying a very limited 

 space ; in one instance the nests seemed to have been 

 built at random amongst those of a large colony of 

 two species of Tern and some of the Pratincole : the 

 only bird, however, that breeds in any considerable 

 number in these marshes, whose eggs might possibly 

 be mistaken for those of the Stilt, is the Avocet, but 

 the eggs of this curious bird are larger, and generally 

 laid in dryer spots than those chosen by the species 

 of which I am treating. 



The Stilt appears to feed principally upon insects, 

 which it picks from the siu-face of the mud and 

 water, or catches as they fly around. We found the 

 birds exceedingly tame, indeed they never seemed to 

 notice our presence, except in the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood of their eggs or young, when they would 

 circle about us with loud cries and evolutions which 

 reminded me of the Peewits at home. In other 

 cases I have often remained for many minutes, both 

 on horseback and on foot, entirely unconcealed. 



