LONG-LEGGED PLOVER. 
77 
^stances, tlie whole weighing between two and three 
pounds. This habit of adding materials to the nest 
female begins sitting, is common to almost 
other birds that breed in the marshes. The eggs 
th? “umber, of a dark yellowish clay colour, 
ckly marked with largo blotches of black. These 
ea*b placed within fifteen or twenty yards of 
' On other ; but the gi-eatest harmony seems to prevail 
the proprietoit 
Wart- *' ® females are sitting, the males are either 
(liiig through the ponds or roaming over the adjoining 
tli/^ 1 ’ should a person make his appe.arance. 
Ion collect together in the air, flying with their 
extended behind them, keeping up a continual 
J note of elicit, click, click. Their flight is steady, 
a “ "ot in short, sudden jerks, like that of the plover, 
tij .“'«y frequently alight on the bare marsh, they drop 
“■ 'rings, stand with their legs half bent, and trem- 
as if unable to sustain thc biirden of their bodies, 
for"*'** ’■“I'unlous posture they will sometimes sta,nd 
*®''cral minutes, uttering a curring sound, while, 
ion„ , ® corresponding quiverings of their wings and 
diflT.T^’ balance themselves with great 
hi* y- 'This singular manceuvre is, no doubt, 
eaC'i '“'ll"'® “ I*®!'®! *'“i‘ 
the® 1® rii® attention of the person, from 
Tl l"“‘*uit of their nests and young, to themselves, 
tie,, '^.®'l'“®ckcd avoset practises the very same decep- 
indK same ludicrous manner, and both alight 
h ;m ^ijiuiinately on the ground or in the water. Both 
®lian "*'*'*• “ucasionally swim for a few feet, when they 
Sevo **i’ “’ading, to lose their depth, as I have had 
Th liuics an opportunity of observing. 
®Oast * "a*“e by which this bird is known on the sea 
^ari long-shanks. They are but 
^ dispersed over the marshes, having, as has 
a-ljjl iTeady observed, their particular favourite spots, 
Uon large intermediate tracts, there are few or 
ly, .® lo be found. They occasionally visit the shore, 
“o about in the water and in the mud, in search of 
