KILDEER PLOVER. 
361 
as happen to be near, such as bits of sticks, straw, pebbles, or earth. 
In one instance, I found the nest of this bird paved with fragments of 
clam and oyster shells, and very neatly surrounded with a mound or 
border of the same, placed in a very close and curious manner. In 
some cases there is no vestige whatever of a nest. The eggs are usually 
four, of a bright rich cream, or yellowish clay color, thickly marked 
with blotches of black. They are large for the size of the bird, measur- 
ing more than an inch and a half in length, and a full inch in width, 
tapering to a narrow point at the great end. 
Nothing can exceed the alarm and anxiety of these birds during the 
breeding season. Their cries of Jcildeer, kildeer, as they winnow the 
air over, head, dive and course around you, or run along the ground 
counterfeiting lameness, are shrill and incessant. The moment they 
see a person approach, they fly or run to attack him with their harassing 
clamor, continuing it over so wide an extent of ground, that they puzzle 
the pursuer as to the particular spot where the nest or young are con- 
cealed ; very much resembling, in this respect, the Lapwing of Europe. 
During the evening, and long after dusk, particularly in moonlight, 
their cries are frequently 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. The 
proAvling of Owls may also alarm their fears for their young at those 
hours ; but whatever may be the cause, the facts are so. 
The Kildeer is more abundant in the Southern States in winter than 
in summer. Among the rice fields, and even around the planters' yards 
in South Carolina, I observed them very numerous, in the months of 
February and March. There the negro boys frequently practise the 
barbarous mode of catching them with a line, at the extremity of which 
is a crooked pin, with a worm on it. Their flight is something like that 
of the Tern, but more vigorous ; and they sometimes rise to a great 
height in the air. They are fond of wading in pools of water ; and 
frequently bathe themselves during the summer. They usually stand 
erect on their legs, and run or walk with the body in a stiff horizontal 
position ; they run with great swiftness, and are also strong and vigorous 
in the wings. Their flesh is eaten by some, but is not in general esteem, 
though others say, that in the fall, when they become very fat, it is 
excellent. 
During the extreme droughts of summer, these birds resort to the 
gravelly channel of brooks and shallow streams, where they can wade 
about in search of aquatic insects. At the close of summer they gene- 
rally descend to the seashore, in small flocks, seldom more than ten or 
