54 Richmond A New Species of Plover from Madagascar. 



especially on the two inner ones ; next inner pair (4th) dusky, with white 

 tips; 5th pair hair brown, becoming black snbterminally, with a deep 

 buff tip. Bill, legs, and feet black in dried skin. Wing, 4.00; tail, 1.72; 

 tarsus, 1.20; culmen (exposed), .69 inches. 



In another female (No. 151,169) the wing measures 4.20 inches; the 

 other measurements of the five specimens are very much the same. 



This species seems to be most nearly related to ^Egialitis varia (Vieillot) 

 of Africa, and also found in Madagascar, but differs from it mainly in the 

 presence of the black pectoral band and the absence of a wholly black 

 shaft in the third primary ; the white line posterior to the black crescent 

 between eyes is more pronounced and the lesser wing-coverts and primar}' 

 coverts are not decidedly blackish. There is also a slight difference in 

 size, particularly noticeable in the bills. 



The two specimens received from the Paris Museum are sexed as males, 

 and are precisely similar to those collected by Dr. Abbott. They were 

 collected by M. Lantz, in 1882, on the southeast coast of Madagascar. In 

 addition to this information the labels bear the names 'Charatlrius tenett-us,' 

 and, in a later handwriting, ' pecuarius ' [~=varia]. 



From an examination of the specimens in the National Museum and a 

 careful comparison of descriptions, it appears that no described plumages 

 of either JEgialitis tenetta or J varia possess black pectoral bands. 



I was rather loth to consider the species unnamed after examining the 

 two specimens from the Paris Museum, as the bird must be well known 

 to the French authors, particularly Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, whose 

 great work on Madagascar birds I have had no opportunity to consult. 

 Thinking there might be some reference to the black pectoral band in the 

 account of jE. varia in this work, I wrote to Mr. Witiner Stone, of the 

 Philadelphia Academy, who has access to it, and he has very kindly fur 

 nished me with the folio wing extract* under Charadrius pecuarius Temm. 

 (as they prefer to write it) : 



' ' Ce Pluvier africain se trouve aussi a Madagascar, sur ies cotes de Test 

 comme sur celles de 1'ouest. II est en dessus d'un brun roussatre clair 

 avec une couronne blanche autour de latete qu'un diademe noiratre separe 

 du front, qui est egalement blanc ainsi que Ies joues ; la gorge, la poitrine, 

 que traverse, chez Ies adultes, une large bande noire, et Ies sous-caudales, 

 sont blanches ; le ventre est roussatre. Cette bande noire qui traverse la 

 poitrine chez Ies adultes n'a pas encore ete signalee chez les individus 

 Africains." 



It is very remarkable that the black pectoral band should be present 

 in adults from Madagascar and absent in those from Africa, where the 

 species is said to be common in many places and breeds and from whence 

 it was originally described. 



The two species, varia and thoracica, are apparently found together on 

 the east coast of Madagascar, where Dr. Abbott collected a specimen of 

 each at Loholoka on June 3. It was probably this association of the 

 species that led the authors of the above-mentioned work to consider them 

 adult and young of one species. 



* Hist. Phys. Nat. et Polit. de Madagascar, XII, Ois. tome I, pp. 511-512. 



