NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. 233 



Ocean in North America. In 1875 Messrs Seebohm 

 and Harvie-Bruwn discovered the first breeding grounds 

 of this bird in Europe on the tundras of Northern Russia 

 in the valley of the Petchora. Between June the 22nd 

 and July the 12th, these two naturalists obtained ten 

 nests, carefully identifying the parents at each. The 

 nest is merely a slight hollow in the moss or lichen - 

 covered ground, in which a few twigs, scraps of reindeer- 

 moss, and other vegetable refuse are arranged. The 

 birds were observed to indulge in rather curious flights 

 as they rose from their nests. After being driven from 

 the nest the female was usually the first to return, but 

 she generally came less conspicuously than the male, 

 making her appearance on a distant ridge of the tundra, 

 then after looking round for a short time running quickly 

 to the next lidge, and again looking round, calling at 

 intervals to her mate with a single note. To this, 

 hou^ever, the male seldom replied, but when he did so 

 it was with a double note. After the female had run 

 about thus for some time the male began to move, but 

 he generally joined his mate by flying boldly up to her. 

 On the other hand, the female rarely took to her wqngs. 

 She was very cautious, and passed and repassed her 

 nest several times until she finally settled upon it. All 

 the time that the nest was being watched, the female 

 was \'ery restless, and ran about a good deal, but the 

 male generally remained stationary on a hillock or 

 ridge, apparently watching the movements of his mate. 

 Range OF egg colouration and measurement: 

 The eggs of the Gray Plover are four in number. They 

 are pyriform in shape, not quite so buff in ground colour 

 as those of the Golden Plover, nor quite so olive as 

 those of the Lapwing, spotted and blotched w^ith black- 

 ish-brow^n and with underlying markings of gray. 

 Several very distinct types occur. One is very spar- 



