THE PIPING PLOVER. 525 



the St. Lawrence, its melody may be regarded as character- 

 istic of those shores; and strangely in contrast with the 

 harsh, guttural, rattling voices of the sea fowl in general, it is 

 the most melodious of all bird-notes along our ocean. 



About 7.50 long and 15.50 in extent, this species ranks 

 among our smaller Waders. In form, it is distinctly 

 a Plover. Bill, orange at base and black at tip ; upper 

 parts pale brownish-ash, often almost ashy-w^hite ; under 

 parts neck and forehead, white; streak across the forehead 

 above the white, and ring around the neck — broader on the 

 sides, and almost obliterated above and below — black; 

 wings light-brown, inner edges of the secondaries and outer 

 edges of the primaries, white, tipped with brown; coverts 

 tipped with white; the nearly even tail is white at base, 

 outside feather w^hite, the next white with a spot of black- 

 ish, the rest brown; ring around the full, black eye, yellow; 

 legs, orange; claws, black; under side of wings, pure white. 

 The general appearance of the bird when in motion is 

 almost white, and so lighter than the sand-beaches on which 

 it runs; but it is scarcely discernible thereon w^hen it 

 is standing still. Its flight is rapid and often prolonged, 

 being performed both by continual flapping and by gliding. 



The nest of this bird is a mere hollow in the sand on the 

 open beach. Sometimes it may be sheltered by the scanty 

 vegetation found on the sand. The 4 eggs, about 1.15 x -97, 

 are pointed, light-brown or dark cream, distinctly but finely 

 specked and spotted with dark-brown or black, there being 

 an under marking of pale-ash. On ordinary summer days, 

 the eggs do not need anything more than the warmth of 

 the sun on the sand to secure incubation; but in chilly or 

 wet weather, and at night, the female adheres closely to the 

 nest. The male is never far from the nest, and should you 

 approach it, night or day, he will at once report himself as its 



