CHARADRIID^ — THE PLOVERS — CHARADRIUS. 139 



Sp. Char. Lining of the wing and axillars always pure white ; tibije naked for only about 

 half the length of the tarsus, or less. Adult in summer : Above dusky bhick, everywhere spotted 

 with bright ochre-yellow, tlie wings with both the ground-color and the markings paler ; primaries, 

 primary-coverts, and aluk\;, plain brownish-slate, with a nari'ow terminal margin of white ; about 

 the terminal half of the shafts of the (quills also white ; tail grayish slate, with rather narrow 

 oblique bars of white, these tinged with yellow on the middle feathers. Entire side of head, up 

 to the upper edge of the lores and auriculars, chin, and foreneck uniform dull black or dusky ; this 

 extending downward over the middle of the jugulum, gradually narnnviug, until below it forms a 

 stripe only a little more than half an inch wide, but, suddenly expanding, covers the entire lower 

 breast, abdomen, and anal region. Forehead and superciliary stripe white, this continued down- 

 ward along the edge of the black, gradually widening below, until, where the black becomes nar- 

 rowest, the white measures nearly one inch in width. Sides of the breast (posterior to and above 

 the white) spotted and barred black and ochre-yellow ; crissum mostly white. Bill black ; iris 

 dark brown ; legs and feet bluish gray (Macgillivr.w). Winter plumage : Upper parts as in sum- 

 mer, but the 3'ellow markings more golden ; black of lower parts, throat, etc., replaced by light 

 grayish, spotted and streaked with darker, the throat and abdomen immaculate white. Young : 

 Above spotted dusky and ochre-yellow, much as in the adult ; lower parts as in the winter adult, 

 but jugulum and sides of breast strongly suffused with light ochre-yellow. Downy young : " Bright 

 golden, varied with l)lack on the liead and back, the hind part of the neck bright yellow ; a spot 

 under the eye, and under surface of the body pure white" (Dresser). 



Total length about 10.50 ; extent, 22.00. Wing, about 7.00; culmen, .90; tar.sus, 1.50-1.60; 

 middle toe, 1.00. 



Except in the pure white axillars and under wing-coverts, there is little in the coloration of 

 this species to distinguish it from the American 0. dominicus and its Asiatic representative, G. 

 fulvus. It is more golden above, however, though some specimens of C. fulvus are as much marked 

 with this color. 



Charadrius dominicus. 



THE AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER. 



Charadrius dominicus, Muller, Syst. Nat. Suppl. 1776, 116. — Cass. Pr. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philad. 



1864, 241.— RiDGW. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 515. — Coues, Check List, 2d ed. 1882, 



no. 581. 

 Charadrius pluvialis, Wilson, Am. Orn. VII. 1813, 71, pi. 50, fig. 5 (nee Lixx.). — Swains. & 



Rich. F. B. A. II. 1831, 369. — Nutt. Man. II. 1834, 16. — Aud. Orn. Biog. III. 1835, 623. 

 Charadrius virginicus, " Borckhausex and Bechstein," Light. Verz. Doubl. 1823, no. 729. — 



Cassix, in Baird's B. N. Am. 1858, 690. — Baird, Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, no. 503. 

 Charadrius fulvus, var. virginicus, CoUE.S, Key, 1872, 243; Check List, 1874, no. 396, Birds N, "W. 



1874, 449 (synonymy). 

 Charadrius marmoratus, Wage. Syst. Av. 1827, no. 42. —Aud. Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 575, pi. 300 ; 



Synop. 1839, 222 ; Birds Am. V. 1842, 203, pi. 316. 

 Charadrius fulvus ainericamis, Schleg. Mus. P.-B. Cursores, 1865, 53. 



Hab. America in general, Irom the Arctic coast (including Greenland) to Paraguay and Chili ; 

 breeding in the Arctic and Subarctic districts, winter migrant to southern localities. 



Sp. Char. Bill rather short, legs moderate, wings long, no hind toe, tarsus covered before and 

 behind with small circular or hexagonal scales. Summer plumage : Upper parts brownish black, 

 with numerous small circular and irregular spots of golden yellow, most numerous on the back 

 and rump, and on the upper tail- coverts, assuming the form of transverse bands generally ; also 

 with some spots of ashy vrhite. Entire under parts black, witli a brownish or bronzed lustre, 

 under tail-coverts mixed or barred with white. Forehead, border of the black of the neck, under 

 tail-coverts, and tibiae, white ; axillary feathers cinereous ; quills dark brown ; middle portion of 

 the shafts white, frequently extending slightly to the webs and forming longitudinal stripes on the 

 shorter quills ; tail dark brown, with numerous irregular bands of ashy Avhite, and frequently 

 tinged with golden yellow ; bill black ; legs dark bluish brown. Winter plumage {young and 



