EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 125 



paratively few, very small and inky-grey. The larger markings 

 are generally most numerous on the large end of the egg. Many 

 of the blotches are confluent and cover a large portion of the egg; 

 but occasionally the markings are small , varying in size from that 

 of a pea to fine shot. They are pyriform in shape, and vary in 

 length from 22 to 1*95 inch, and in breadth from 1'5 to 13 inch. 

 Eggs of the Golden Plover may generally be distinguished from 

 those of the Lapwing and Grey Plover by their much brighter 

 colour ; the ground-colour is clearer and less olive, and the mark- 

 ings are richer. As a rule they are slightly larger in size than 

 those of the Lapwing. 



THE ASIATIC GOLDEN PLOVER 

 (Charadrius fulvus.) 



Plate 39, Fig. 8. 



This small race of Golden Plover, distinguished by its smoky- 

 brown axillaries, has twice been captured in Great Britain ; one 

 specimen from Norfolk having been purchased in Leadenhall 

 market, and another having been shot at Stennis, in Orkney. 

 The species is found over the greater part of Asia, from north to 

 south. It breeds on the tundra of Siberia, and a nest I found on 

 the Yenisei, in July, was merely a hollow in the ground on a 

 piece of turfy land, overgrown with moss and lichen, and was 

 lined with broken stalks of reindeer moss. 



The eggs are four in number, and very closely resemble those of 

 the Golden Plover, but are slightly smaller. They vary in length 

 from 192 to 185 inch, and in breadth from l - 32 to 1"27 inch. 



THE VIEGINIAN GOLDEN PLOVEE. 



(Charadrius virginicus.) 



Plate 39, Fig. 5. 



This is a slightly larger bird than the Asiatic Golden Plover, 



which it resembles in the colour of its axillaries. It nests in the 



barren grounds of North America, and extends— in winter — over 



the whole of the New World. Dr. Sharpe and some ornithologists 



do not admit the distinctness of this form from C. fulvus. It has 



twice occurred in Great Britain — once in Perthshire, and on the 



other occasion a specimen was picked up in Leadenhall market. 



