38 
Some Puniab River Birds. 
The plumage is roughly speaking light ashy-broAvn 
above, with wliite underparts and a wuiic band on the \yn- 
niaries; tnere are some biack markings on the sides of the 
head, and a conspicuous blackish- brown band, foliowed by 
a narrow whitish one on the smaller wing -coverts; irides 
bright yellow. 
The eggs are two in number and are laid on the sand 
without any attempt at nidiiication, save that the hollow in 
which they lie is sometimes if not always made by the bird. 
They are stone coloured, with dark blotches and set;ondary 
purplish markings. The earliest and latest dates on wiiich 1 
have found eggs are respectively the 31st March and tlie 
yth May. Tne measurements of 8 eggs give the following 
result : 
Length from 53 to 58.5 mms. 
Breadth from 41 to 43.3 mms. 
Average dimensions 56.3 x 42 mms. 
The nestling is clothed with thick ashy-grey down 
above, tinged with sandy, and largely lipped witii biack; there 
u.ie bome biack marks on the head and back; lower parts grey- 
iou-wnite. 
The next species with whose nesting I became ac- 
quainted was the Little Indian Pratincole or iSwailow Plover 
yGLarcola lactea, Temm.). 
One evening, trudging across the stretch of sand whence 
had come the iStone- Plovers' eggs, I saw a number of tiny 
tracks on the sand by my feet and hard by two eggs lying 
in an aituicial houow by a Tamarisk shoot; they were rather 
curious little eggs, unlike anything that I had seen Ijefore, but 
instinct toid me that they must be Pratincoles, for there were 
numbers of the birds about, and their whole behaviour i)ointed 
to the probability of their being about to nest. The con- 
jecture was verified in a few days Avhen I came across whole 
colonies of the Pi'atincoles' nests, often in company with those 
of Terns. 
The Little Indian Pratincole {Glareola. lactea, Temm.) 
is one of the prettiest of our river birds, and is peculiar to 
India; in the northern Punjab it is apparently only a summer 
visitor from the middle of March to the second week in 
October, and at that time occurs in enormous numbers. I 
