THE BIRD BOOK 



Wilson's Plover 

 Mountain Plover. 





i^^ 



Brownish gray. 



Olive gray. 



280. Wilson's Plover. 



Octhodromus wilsonius. 



Range. — An abundant breeding species on the 

 Gulf coast, coast of Lower California, and on the 

 Atlantic coast north to Virginia, and casually 

 farther. 



A common Plover, which may be distinguished 

 from others of the genus by its comparatively 

 large heavy black bill, and the single broad black 

 band across the 

 breast, and not ex- 

 tending around the 

 back of the neck. 

 They nest on peb- 

 bly "shingle" or in 

 the marsh, back of 

 the beaches. Their 

 eggs are an olive 

 gray color and are 

 spotted and scratch- 

 ed with blackish 

 brown, with some 

 fainter markings of gray. Size 1.40 x 1.05. Data. 

 — Corpus Christi, Texas, May 10, 1899. 4 eggs 

 laid on the ground among drifted grass on a salt 

 marsh near town. Collector, Frank B. Arm- 

 strong. 



281. Mountain Plover. Podasocys montanus 



Range. — Plains and prairies of western North 

 America, breeding from the central portions 

 north to Manitoba, and wintering in California 

 and southward. 



A very peculiar species, inhabiting even the 

 driest portions of the western prairies. It is 9 

 inches in length, and has a plumage of a pale 

 buffy tone. It seems to be less aquatic than any 

 other American Plover and is rarely found in the 

 vicinity of bodies of water. It nests on the ground 

 tinywhere on the prairie, laying its eggs in a 

 slight hollow. The eggs are brownish gray in 

 color and are spotted and blotched with blackish 

 brown. Data. — Morgan county, Colorado, May 7, 

 1902. Nest a slight hollow on the ground, near a 

 large cactus bed and close to a water hole. No 

 lining to nest. Collector, Glenn S. White. 



