The Stone Curlew is singularly shy and cautious in avoiding observers, and should it be disturbed, at once seeks shelter by crouching to the ground; if still followed, it endeavours to escape by running, and is rarely forced to have recourse to its wings. Its flight is gentle and easy, but seldom long sustained. During the day it usually remains quiet, and in South Africa conceals itself from the presence of man almost after the manner of an Owl. No sooner, however, has night set in, than it appears in quite a new character, darting lightly about on rapid wing in search of food and water, or running swiftly over the surface of the ground. It is not uncommon for a pair of these birds to wander for miles in search of a drinking-place, returning before morning to their usual haunts. Whilst thus actively employed, their clear resonant call of "cur-lui" is constantly heard. Frogs, lizards, mice, and occasionally eggs and small birds form their principal food; field-mice they catch after the manner of a cat, and crunch the bones previous to swallowing their prey; insects they also kill before consuming them; grains of sand and pebbles are employed to assist the process of digestion. At the commencement of spring, battles between the males frequently occur in order to obtain a desired female. The eggs, from two to three in number, are deposited about April in a slight hollow in the sand, these are about the size of Hens' eggs and of the same shape, with a pale yellowish shell, spotted and streaked with deep yellow and blackish brown. The female broods and hatches her family in about sixteen days; during this time she is carefully guarded by her watchful mate. As soon as the young quit the nest, they follow their parent and receive instruction in the art of obtaining food: should danger be at hand, a cry warns them to seek shelter, and they at once conceal themselves by lying close to the ground. The Thick-knee exhibits considerable courage when protecting its family, and has been seen to defend its nest with vigour against the approach of sheep or dogs. One of these birds, kept by Brehm the elder, became extraordinarily tame and ran freely about the house, testifying the utmost attachment to his master, eating from his hand, and allowing himself to be caressed at pleasure.
The PLOVERS (Charadrii) constitute a family of short-necked, large-headed birds, of small size, with moderately long, slender, but thick-jointed legs, three-toed feet, the hinder toe being either entirely wanting or but slightly developed and much raised. The wings are pointed and slender, with the first or second quill longer than the rest, and the secondaries prolonged. The short tail is composed of twelve feathers, and slightly rounded at its extremity. The beak, which is rarely more than half as long as the head, is soft at its base and hard on the raised portion at its extremity. The thick compact plumage varies in the sexes, and according to the season of the year. The Plovers are met with in every quarter of the globe, and while some occupy the interior of the country, frequenting its plains and open grounds, others prefer the vicinity of the sea, or the margins of lakes and rivers, obtaining their food principally from the water; others, again, select desert tracts, marshes, or mountainous districts. During the breeding season all live in pairs, but near together; subsequently they collect together into large parties, which gradually increase in size as the season[Pg 16] for migrating approaches. In their habits the Plovers are usually active; they run and fly with equal facility, and though they rarely attempt to swim, are not altogether unsuccessful in that particular. Almost all the species utter a plaintive whistle, and during the breeding season can produce a few connected, pleasing notes. The three or four pear-shaped variegated eggs are deposited in a slight hollow in the ground, in which a few blades of grass are occasionally placed. Both parents assist in the work of incubation. Reptiles, worms, small quadrupeds, and insects constitute the food of these birds. Their flesh is regarded as a delicacy, and they are therefore objects of great attraction to the sportsman, although they often render themselves extremely troublesome by uttering their shrill cry, and thus warning their feathered companions of the approach of danger. From this habit they have received the name of "tell-tales." "The Charadrius carunculata, an African species," writes Livingstone, "a most plaguey sort of 'public-spirited individual,' follows you everywhere, flying overhead, and is most persevering in his attempts to give fair warning to all the animals within hearing to flee from the approach of danger."
THE GOLDEN PLOVER.
The GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrius auratus, or pluvialis) is at once recognisable by its slender beak and feet, pointed wings, and golden plumage. The feathers on the upper portions of the body are black, thickly covered with small green or golden yellow spots, the entire under side is black. In the autumn, the throat and breast are spotted with yellowish grey; the belly is white; the black tail-feathers are streaked with white; and the black throat is decorated with a white stripe commencing at the brow and merging into the breast. The eye is dark brown, the beak black, and the foot blackish grey. This species is ten inches long and twenty-two broad; the wing measures seven inches, and the tail three inches and a half.
The Golden Plovers are especially numerous in the cooler portions of the globe, becoming gradually rarer towards 57° north latitude. In England they are generally distributed, but such as occupy the southern parts go northwards to the high hills and swampy ground of Scotland and the northern counties of England during the breeding season. These migrations usually take place at night, the birds flying at a considerable height from the ground. During the day they rest or seek for food, and, strangely enough, select not their usually favourite marshes, but fields and cultivated ground. These Plovers are brisk and nimble, running with great rapidity, and flying, not only swiftly, but gracefully. During the period of incubation they indulge in a variety of elegant gyrations in the vicinity of the nest, and their plaintive, clear whistle is heard to most advantage at that season. Worms, larvæ, beetles, snails, and slugs constitute their principal nourishment, and in order to assist digestion small pebbles are also swallowed. Water would appear to be a real necessary of life to these birds, as they love to wash and cleanse their feathers in it daily. The eggs, generally four in number, have a yellowish, stone-coloured shell, marked and spotted with brownish black. These are deposited in a slight hollow in the ground, lined with a few fibres or blades of grass. The young leave the nest immediately after quitting the shell, and follow their parents for about a month, after which time they are able to fly and seek for food on their own account. It is uncertain whether the father assists in the incubation of the eggs. Macgillivray gives the following graphic description of the parental affection observable in the male birds, as witnessed by himself on some heath-covered mountain. "Presently a breeze rolls away the mist, and discloses a number of these watchful sentinels, each on his mound of faded moss, and all emitting their mellow cries the moment we offer to advance. They are males, whose mates are brooding over their eggs, or leading their down-clad and toddling chicks among the (to them) pleasant peat-bogs that intervene between the high banks, clad with luxuriant heath not yet recovered from the effects of the winter[Pg 17] frosts, and little meadows of cotton-grass, white as the snow-wreaths that lie on the hills. How prettily they run over the grey moss and lichens, their little feet twinkling, and their full, bright, and soft eyes gleaming as they commence their attempts to entice us away from their chosen retreats." The attempts to lure intruders from their nest, above alluded to, consist in a most excellent feigning of being desperately wounded and unable to fly, or by affecting to have lamed a leg, and thus enticing the enemy to follow the cunning bird, as it slowly retreats in an opposite direction to that occupied by its beloved progeny. When the young are able to fly, the Plovers associate in flocks, which remain on the moors till winter begins, when they quit them for pasture lands. As the season advances, and the cold becomes severe, they descend to the coast, and usually remain in the vicinity of the sea during the winter. Occasionally they are so tame that, according to the authority above quoted, they will allow a sportsman to approach within fifteen yards, and even walk around them several times in order to drive them together before taking aim. "In windy weather," continues Macgillivray, "they often rest by lying flat on the ground, and I have reason to think that at night this is the general practice. In the Hebrides I have often gone to shoot them by moonlight, when they seemed as actively engaged as in the day, which was also the case with the Snipes, but I seldom succeeded in my object, it being extremely difficult to estimate the distance at night. The numbers that at this season frequent the sandy pastures and shores of the outer Hebrides is astonishing."
THE GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrius auratus), AND THE DOTTEREL (Eudromias Morinellus).
[Pg 18]
The Golden Plover is in great request for the table, and is in perfection about September and October.