LAPWING (AS. hleapewince, lapwing, from 01TG. hlaufan, Ger. /a (ilea, to run, Goth. us-hlattpan, to spring up + AS. wincian. OHG. winehan, (;er. winken. Eng. wink so called from the jerky motion of the wings. hut confused by popular etymology with lop + cuing), or PEEWIT.
An 01(1 World plover ( Fanellas cristatus), differ ing from the true plovers chiefly in having a hind toe. It is numerous in summer in all the temper ate parts of Europe and Asia, but the majority migrate southward in winter. It is very plover like in form and habits, and among the most beautiful of shore-birds. The head. which is sur mounted with a beautiful crest, is black; the throat black in summer and white in winter; the back is green, glossed with purple and cop per color. lapwing is very plentiful in moors, open commons. and marshy tracts, in pairs during the breeding season, and in winter in flocks, chiefly on the seashore. where its plain
tive cry suggests the name 'peewit' (or in Scot land 'peesweep'). by which it is known in popu la• speech. Its artifices to prevent the discovery of its nest are as eager and ingenious as those of other plovers, and, like them, its nest is little more than a depression in the ground containing four eggs. These eggs are esteemed a great deli •aey, and great numbers are sent to the London market, under the name of plovers' eggs. The bird itself is also highly esteemed for the table. The resulting persecuthai was so great that the bird nearly vanished from Great Britain; it is now, however, protected by law, and is again nu merous. Consult Newton, Dictionary of Birds (London. 1893-96), and other authorities on British birds. See Plate of PLovEas.