NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. 227 



in the vicinity. Sometimes alluring motions are 

 employed. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Killdeer Plover are four in number. 

 They are pear-shaped, smooth in texture, and pale buft' 

 of various shades in ground colour, blotched and spotted 

 with blackish-brown and with underlying markings of 

 brownish-gray. As a rule most of the blotches are on 

 the larger end of the ^^g, forming a semi-confluent cap 

 or an irregular zone. A not unfrequent type has the 

 markings in the form of scratches and irregular spots. 

 Average measurement, v6 inch in length, by i*i inch in 

 breadth. Incubation is performed by both parents, but 

 the duration of the period is unknown. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of the Killdeer 

 cannot readily be confused with those of any other 

 allied species breeding in the same area, their size and 

 colouration beincr sufficient to distinguish them, with 

 the sole exception of those of the Spotted Sandpiper, 

 from which, however, their much larger size serves to 

 separate them. 



Family CHARADRIID^. Genus ^gialitis. 



Sub-family CHARADRIINyE. 



RINGED PLOVER. 



/Egialitis hiaticula {Liiinceus). 



(British : Possibly breeds ; common spring and autumn coasting 



migrant.) 



Single Brooded. Laying season, April to June, according to 



locality. 



Breeding area : Western PaLxarctic region and 

 north-eastern Neartic region. The typical form of the 



