dodges of the Peewit or Partridge to draw attention to
themselves and away from their broods on such occasions,
feigning to have broken wings or legs, and only
just avoiding capture by rising when very closely
pressed by man or dog. When the bird has no special
cause for anxiety it usually runs off rapidly before a
human intruder upon its haunts, uttering a soft sweet
whistle, and occasionally halting abruptly with noddings
of the head and bowings of the body.
In the autumn these birds gather into large flocks
and associate with Dunlins and other Waders on the
mud-flats at low-water times. But the Ringed Plover
is essentially a bird of the sand, and can evidently find
a living in spots where a Sandpiper would starve, as it
is known to breed on some of the warrens of our
eastern counties; and I have myself met with a pair
that were evidently breeding upon a high down in the
county of Hants during the month of June. There is
no doubt that this species habitually rears more than
one brood, as the young are often to be found well able
to take care of themselves in May, and, on the other
hand, I have found several that could not have been
hatched more than a few hours late in July. Besides
the name of Stone-Hatch, already mentioned, this bird
is very commonly known as Ringed Dotterel, Sea-Lark,
Stone-Runner, Sand-Lark, Pullot, and Purre; this last
name, however, is more commonly applied to the
Dunlin.
I must refer my readers to the often quoted 4th
edition of ‘ Yarrell ’ for details relating to a small race
of this species that occurs more or less regularly on the
south coast of England in May, and has been (as I
think without valid reason) specifically separated from
the present bird under the title of 2E. intermedia. This
small race is the prevailing form on the shores of the
Mediterranean; but is not, in my experience, very
abundant in Southern Europe.