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NOTES ON THE COUETSHIP OF THE LAPWING. 

 By Maud D. Haviland. 



During the early spring of 1912 and 1913 my attention was 

 drawn to the courtship procedure of the Lapwing (Vanellus 

 vanellas). My observations in these years were a good deal 

 interrupted, chiefly owing to the lack of a suitable spot for 

 observation ; but in 1915, for a month from the middle of 

 February onwards, I was able to spend some hours three or four 

 times a week with the birds. Several pairs of Plover frequented 

 this breeding ground, which consisted of two or three fields of 

 fallow and stubble, separated by a deep grass lane, which was 

 screened by high hedges. By making a detour, and approaching 

 the spot by the lane, it was possible to hide in the hedge quite 

 unseen by the birds, and I have frequently watched the actions 

 to be described at a distance of sixty yards through x 8 binocu- 

 lars. Most of my observations were carried out early in the 

 morning, partly for the sake of convenience and partly because 

 at that hour there was less risk of disturbance by labourers 

 working in the fields. The birds also showed the greatest 

 activity just after sunrise, and, generally speaking, later on 

 there was little doing. 



Ten years ago Mr. Edmund Selous published an account of 

 the courtship of this species,* but the conduct of the birds 

 under my observation differed in several particulars from those 

 that he described. Variations of climate, environment, and the 

 physical condition of the individual bird make much difference 

 to the form of courtship. Therefore, I venture to depart from 

 the example set by Mr. Selous, and in the following account, 

 which relates merely to my own experience, it is proposed to use 

 the past rather than the present and more dogmatic tense. 



* ' Bird Life Glimpses,' p. 163. 

 Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIX., June, 1915. s 



