THE KILDEER PLOVER. 
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favourite feeding-grounds on the banks of rivers. Its nest 
is generally, like those of its congeners, very slight, being 
a mere hollow, with such materials drawn in around it as 
happen to be near ; in this the female usually deposits four 
cream-coloured eggs, thicklyblotched with black. The Ame- 
rican ornithologist says: — ^^Nothing can exceed the alarm 
and anxiety of these birds during the breeding season ; their 
cries of hildeer ! Tcildeer ! as they winnow the air overhead, 
dive, and course around you, or run along the ground coun- 
terfeiting lameness, are shrill and incessant. The moment 
they see a person approach, they fly or run to attack him 
with their harassing clamour, continuing it over so wide an 
extent of ground that they puzzle the pursuer as to the par- 
ticular spot where the nest or young are concealed ; very 
much resembling in this respect the lapwing of Europe. 
During the evening, and long after dusk, particularly in 
moonlight, their cries are heard with equal violence, both 
in the spring and fall. From this circumstance, and their 
flying about both after dusk and before dawn, it appears 
probable that they see better at such times than most of 
their tribe. They are known to feed much on worms, and 
many of these rise to the surface during the night. . . . 
They sometimes rise to a great height in the air ; they are 
