Do northern lapwings Vanellus vanellus and little ringed ploversCharadrius dubius rely on egg crypsis during incubation?

We studied the possible role of clutch crypsis in antipredator behaviour in tworelated species of ground-nesting waders with camouflaged eggs, the northern lapwing (Vanellusvanellus) and the little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius). We examined whether this behaviourappears regularly in both species and tested the difference in the use of this trait between the twospecies. The results suggest that both charadriids rely on egg crypsis as a reasonable strategytoward avian nest predators.

Miroslav SALEK and Eva CEPAKOVA, Folia Zool. 55(1): 43-51 (2006)