THE STORY OF THE BIRDS. 
526 
choice game bird and is persistently hunted. Like the partridge it is 
addicted to “drumming.” Its nest is a hollow, lined with dried grass, and 
the four eggs are buff or olive in color, with large blotches of rich, dark 
brown. 
lapwing —Closely related to the plover is the bird commonly called lap¬ 
wing or green plover, the head of which often bears a crest. Unlike other 
members of the family the common lapwing has no spur on the wing, and 
is recognized by the metallic luster on the green plumage of the upper parts, 
the absence of white on the wing coverts, and by its crest of great length. 
It ranges from Britain to Japan and is found on both sides of the American 
continent, and in Alaska and Greenland. In winter it goes as far south as 
Northern Africa, Persia and India. In their enormous winter flocks, lap¬ 
wings are among the most difficult of birds to approach. When the breed- 
ing-place is approached, the old bird glides steadily off the nest, runs a little 
distance, then rises in the air to flutter restlessly above the intruder’s head, 
uttering its harsh, wailing cries. So closely do the eggs resemble surround¬ 
ing objects in color that it is no easy task to find them; but the old birds 
very often betray their whereabouts by hovering above them; at these times 
the birds are easily approached, often coming within a few feet. When the 
young are hatched, they soon follow their parents in search of food. If 
menaced by danger, the old birds quit their offspring at once, fly into the 
air, or reel and tumble along the ground as if wounded, while the nestlings 
scurry off in different directions and hide themselves among the herbage. 
Corncrake —The corncrake or land-rail is found throughout the greater 
part of Europe and as far east as the Yenisei in Siberia, ranging south in 
winter to Africa, while it is also an occasional visitant to North America and 
Greenland. Nearly allied is the Carolina rail, in which the general color 
above is olive brown, varied with black centers and white margins to the 
feathers; forehead, crown, front of the face and middle of the throat and neck 
black; the eyebrow-stripes, sides of the face and neck, as well as the chest, 
ashy gray, the breast white, and the flanks barred with black and white. 
Pratincoles —The forked tail and somewhat swallow-like appearance and 
habits of the pratincole render it, at first sight, somewhat difficult to believe 
that these birds are near relatives of the plovers; but closer observation 
will show that their long legs are adapted for running in the usual plover¬ 
like manner, and that it is only when on the wing hawking for flies that a 
resemblance is presented to the swallows. Many of them resemble coursers 
in their black under wing-coverts and white upper tail-coverts. Like the 
