THE LAPWING 205 
There can be no doubt that many things are 
early this year ; the warm spell of weather we have 
been enjoying has hurried matters considerably. 
The Small Tortoiseshell larve are distinctly early 
and so is the Meadow Brown butterfly (Hipparchia 
Janira), which is flitting about close at hand. That 
gentleman is not expected until June at the earliest, 
and this is May 28. But is it a gentleman? Let 
us wait until the insect settles, and then decide. 
Steady now! Ah! now we have it. It has a tawny- 
orange patch about the “eye” on the forewing ; 
then it is a lady. The female Meadow Brown is 
larger and more pleasantly coloured than the male ; 
but neither can be called handsome, in their coats 
of sooty brown relieved only by the eye on the 
forewing in the male and the tawny patch in the 
female. The larva of the Meadow Brown is green 
with lines of white along its length, and it has a 
forked tail. It feeds on grasses. This butterfly is 
very abundant, and can always be found from June 
until the end of August. 
Hullo! we have disturbed a Lapwing. It flew 
away very quietly from somewhere near us here, 
and now is joining its mate yonder, the pair of them 
circling about and uttering their melancholy cry. 
They want us to believe that their nest is where 
they are ; but I am sure it is quite close to us here. 
We must find it, for I want a photograph of the 
eggs. Whata pity! I have actually put my foot 
on the nest and broken two of the eggs. But two 
remain, and I will take a picture of them. How 
slight the nest is, just a little dry grass loosely 
arranged in a slight hollow of the ground! The 
