. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . d sothat their narrow ends point to the centre of the nest ^ I have discovered and pliotographed a nest containing fragmentsof broken egg-shells apparently fresh and stained with yolk ; on thesoft sandy soil round the nest were the foot-prints of rats extendingas a track for several yards distance. A little further on, I foundanother nest, containing two eggs, each of which had an elongated holepunched in its side from which the fresh contents were exuding. Theeggs were probably broken by Jackdaws which were disturbed 240 CHAEADRIID/E (Plate X
. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . d sothat their narrow ends point to the centre of the nest ^ I have discovered and pliotographed a nest containing fragmentsof broken egg-shells apparently fresh and stained with yolk ; on thesoft sandy soil round the nest were the foot-prints of rats extendingas a track for several yards distance. A little further on, I foundanother nest, containing two eggs, each of which had an elongated holepunched in its side from which the fresh contents were exuding. Theeggs were probably broken by Jackdaws which were disturbed 240 CHAEADRIID/E (Plate XVI., figs. 1 and 2). But when the clutch is incom-plete the arrangement of the eggs is often quite irregular,and this may be seen even when the full clutch is freshlylaid. No doubt the bird arranges the eggs by the sense oftouch, , with her feet, or beak, as she sits ground-colour of the eggs, ranges from warm stoneto light greenish-brown, and greenish-blue shades occur inexceptional cases, while the dark brown markings vary from. Fig. 3-2.—lapwings AND NEST. PARTRIDGE INTRUDING. small spots to large and confluent blotchings, and evenbroad zonular hands. In Plate XVI., fig. 1, two eggs ofthe clutch are seen to be heavily blotched. Incubation begins about the end of March, but the birdsmay be seen flying about the breeding-grounds a month before they had time to carry away their booty, for fifty yards off I dis-covered two Jackdaws at work, each on an egg. On seeing uie the birdsflew away leaving the eggs on the ground. I then found that the latterwere punched in the same way as the two I saw in the nest, withwhicli they corresponded in their markings. I presume all these eggsbelonged to the same clutch. This is only one of many instances whichI have noted of Plovers eggs being plundered by other birds.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectwaterbi, bookyear1906
