Page:Cassell's book of birds (IA cassellsbookofbi04breh).pdf/37

 transmitted to us, it is clear that it must have been bred on the spot. The food of this species consists of various insects, larvæ, mussels, and similar fare. They drink much, bathe freely once or twice a day, and frequently obtain their prey from under stones in or near the water." In their habits they closely resemble such of their brethren as we have already described.

(Vanellus cristatus).

The four pretty little pale reddish-yellow eggs have a delicate lustreless shell, marked and dotted with grey and blackish brown, and are deposited in a slight hollow on a gravelly or pebbly bank, at such a height as to be in no danger from the rising of the water. During fine days, the parents leave the brood exposed to the rays of the sun, but in rainy weather and at night they share the labour of incubation, and sit constantly. The young are hatched in sixteen or seventeen days, and leave the nest as soon as their plumage is dry, and in a few days begin to pick food. In a few days more they are able to support themselves, but remain with their parents during the first migration.

The LAPWINGS, or PEEWITS (Vanelli), represent a family of birds characterised by their size, the strength of their beak, and the height of the tarsi. The foot is, in many instances, furnished with four toes. In some species the head is adorned with a crest; some have spurs on the wings, and others a remarkable development of skin at the corners of the beak. The sexes are nearly alike, and the young speedily attain the plumage of the adult bird.