LAPWING OR PEEWIT. 



VANELLUS VULGARIS, Bechst. 



Vanellus vulgaris, Bechstein, Ornith. Tasch. p. 313 (1803) ; 



Yarr. cd. 4, iii. p. 283; Dresser, vii. p. 545. 

 Charadrius vanellus, Naum, vii. p. 269. 

 Vanellus cristatus, Macg. iv, p. 133; Hewitson, ii. p. 301. 



Vanneau huppe, French ; Kiebitz, German ; Ave fria, 

 Spanish. 



Under the two names given above, and that of Green 

 Plover, the present species is so well known throughout 

 the British Islands that any lengthened notice on my 

 part would be quite superfluous. One of the most 

 remarkable characteristics of the Peewit is its affection 

 for particular spots for nesting ; several instances have 

 come to my knowledge of pairs of this species continu- 

 ing to nest annually on what had been open commons 

 or grazing-lands after they were not only brought under 

 cultivation, but cut up into small enclosures divided by 

 quick-set fences. Although these birds congregate in 

 the autumn and winter in marshy places, and occasion- 

 ally in vast flocks on the sea-shore, they may, roughly 

 speaking, be said to nest almost anywhere, and a high 

 and dry fallow-field is quite as likely for what are 

 generally known as " Plover's eggs " as the low-lying 



