228 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Ringed Plover breeds in Cumberland Bay, on the 

 American coast of Davis Strait, on the coasts of Green- 

 land up to lat. 79° ; in Iceland, Spitzbergen, Nova 

 Zembla, and probably Franz-Josef Land. In Europe 

 it breeds in suitable localities north of the Alps, and in 

 Northern Africa, including the Canary Islands (although 

 I notice Mr. Meade Waldo only records it as passing on 

 migration) and Madeira. In Asia it is known to breed 

 as far east as the Taimyr peninsula in the north, and the 

 Baikal area in the south, in Turkestan, and Western 

 Siberia. It is said also to breed on the coasts of the 

 Red Sea, but confirmation is wanting. 



Breeding habits : This form of Ringed Plover is a 

 migrant, and regularly passes the British coasts to those 

 portions of its breeding area that lie to the north of our 

 islands. A few pairs may possibly breed within our 

 area, especially on the coasts of Kent and Essex. It 

 arrives in the Arctic regions towards the end of May or 

 early in June. Of its pairing habits nothing appears to 

 be known, but the bird probably mates annually, the 

 flocks disbanding at the breeding grounds. Although 

 ereearious in winter it does not breed in colonies, but in 

 more or less scattered pairs, which are certainly socially 

 inclined. This Plover is not known to differ in its 

 nesting habits from the larger race. It is rather remark- 

 able, however, that Capt. Feilden found a nest of this 

 form lined with the green fleshy leaves and stems of 

 Atriplex littoralis, a fact which suggests, if it does not 

 actually prove, some difference of habit. It may be that 

 in the high north some sort of lining is added to the 

 sandy nest for the purposes of warmth. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Ringed Plover are four in number, 

 pyriform, and smooth in texture. They cover the same 

 range of colour variation as those of the Greater Ringed 



