The nest is placed in some well-hidden spot in a field, and is
Composed of short pieces of dry straw, or other such materials as
furnished by the locality.
The eggs arc of a pale reddish white colour, spotted and speckled
with grey, and brown of a darker and lighter shade. They are four
in number. The young as soon as hatched, run about with wonderful
speed.
Male; length, about six inches and three quarters or over; upper
bill, dusky; the under one dusky towards the tip, and dull yellowish
red about the base; a dusky streak goes from it to and behind 1 he eye.
Iris, dusky; the eyestreak, white; forehead, white. Head on the crown,
neck on the back, and nape, olivaceous brown, marked with dusky spots
of an elongated form on the feathers; neck on the sides, chin, throat,
and breast, white, with numerous distinct round spots and transverse
marks of dusky greenish brown on the sides of the last-named; below,
white. Back above, olivaceous purple brown; in winter many of the
feathers are black, with greyish white margins, the rest grey, marbled
with pale brown, having the shafts alone black; below, white.
The wings have the first quill feather the longest; greater wing
coverts, grey, with darker centres to the feathers, and tipped with white;
some of the lesser wing coverts also grey, with darker centres. Of
the primaries the first is brownish black, the shafts of it and the next,
white; the rest with a white spot on the middle of the inner web;
secondaries, tipped with white; tertiarics, grey, with black shaft*, and
barred upon the outer parts of the webs with black and pale ash grey;
in winter margined with white, and faintly barred with a deeper shade
of brown. The tail has, in summer, the two middle feathers greyish
u k i t e ; in winter, white, marked with zigzag lines and bars of pale
brown; the outer feathers wholly white, except a longitudinal streak of
brown upon the outer web. The outer feather on each side has the
outer web white, barred with greenish black; upper tail coverts,
while, in summer barred with brown. Legs and toes, greenish grey;
claws, dusky brown.
The male and female are nearly alike.
The young arc at first covered with dull yellowish brown down, with
a streak of black behind the eye, and one down the back. Subsequently
indications of the spots appear, and they shew themsehes ostensibly in
the winter.