78 EPPING FOREST
eyes deceived me I saw one, when suddenly disturbed,
carry off one of its eggs between its thighs.
Woodpigeon. Great numbers breed in the Forest, and
their exquisite note may be constantly heard. When
there is much beech-mast immense flocks swarm in
Monk Wood and Theydon, and the ground even looks
gray with their droppings.
Stockdove. Always come in May and nest. It nests in
holes in trees.
Turtledove. A constant summer visitor. I have seen flocks
of them about Walthamstow in late summer. Its plain-
tive note may be frequently heard in Theydon Thickets
at the time of incubation.
Pheasant. There are a fair number of wild-bred pheasants
in the Forest, and many reared in the neighbouring woods
come in for acorns in the autumn.
Partridge. A good many pairs, both of the gray and red-
legged kinds, breed on the more open parts of the Forest.
LAPWINGS.
Thick-knee Stone Curlew or Norfolk Plover. I saw this
bird on the 21st April 1883 on one of the open " plains "
in the Fairmead Thicket; when it rose it flew a few yards
only and re-alighted. I should not have known what it
was if I had not been in the company of a well-known
naturalist. A young bird of this species was captured
on the borders of the Lower Forest.
Golden Plover. Not uncommon in winter. A flock of
more than a hundred frequented Wanstead Park and
the fields adjoining in company with lapwings and
fieldfares in March 1883. Flocks also frequent Thorn-
wood Common. Many of the male birds showed much
black about the neck and breast.
Gray Plover. Has been found by the Roding in late
autumn. It is generally considered a strictly maritime
bird, and therefore its occurrence in the Forest is re-
markable. One procured by the late Mr. Doubleday
of Epping is preserved in the British Museum.
Lapwing. Frequently seen in flocks about the fields near