. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . It is perhaps the best known of all the Plovers andis a conspicuously handsome creature, whose long nuchalcrest of dark green feathers adds materially to its attrac-tiveness. A white streak surmounts the eye, the neck iswhite and so are the under parts, but the rest of thebody, including the lower half of the tail, is dark greenglittering with metaUic lustre: the upper half of the tailis white, and the vent feathers buff; the bill is black, andthe iris grey. The female has a sm
. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . It is perhaps the best known of all the Plovers andis a conspicuously handsome creature, whose long nuchalcrest of dark green feathers adds materially to its attrac-tiveness. A white streak surmounts the eye, the neck iswhite and so are the under parts, but the rest of thebody, including the lower half of the tail, is dark greenglittering with metaUic lustre: the upper half of the tailis white, and the vent feathers buff; the bill is black, andthe iris grey. The female has a smaller crest, but otherwise resemblesthe male. It is well-known by its curious habit (more or lessfollowed by all the Plovers) of feigning lameness in orderto draw away intruders from the vicinity of the nest. The eggs, which are usually four in number, are ingreat request for the table, and the quest is so keen that FOR CAGES AND A VIARIES. 155 the numbers of this handsome and eminently usefulspecies, as well as its congeners, have sensibly diminishedof late years. The young run about as soon as hatched, *%^ e^. LAIWINGS. and feed on small worms, snails, slugs and insects of allkinds. They are very easy to rear by feeding them, asnearly as possible, on the diet natural for them, whenthey become extremely tame and make very interesting pets. The Norfolk Plover. See Thick-Knee. The Oyster-catcher, or Sea-pie. This is a black and white bird about i^ feet in length,with orange-yellow bill and greenish-yellow legs and feet,and weighing 16 or 17 ounces. It is of wandering ratherthan migratory habits, collecting in small flocks during 156 BRITISH BIRDS the winter season but nearly always on the coast. Theeggs are four in number as is usual with the Plovers, andyellowish or buff-white spotted with black, brown and young can run about very actively soon after theyare hatched, and can be reared without much difficultyon their natural diet, marine insects, small Crustacea,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectcag
