108 ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS 



No. 89053. — Iris dark blown. Bill black. Feet somewhat bluish gr.ay, toes darker. 



No. 89054. — Feet faiut yellowish gray, toes darker. 



No. 89137. — Feet gray with a tiu;:o ofbiowuish, toes more blackisii. 



No. 92780 — Iris dark hazel. Bill black. Feet dark gray with an olive tinge ; toes darker, blackish. 

 Shot on the nest. Very fat. A large naked "biood-iiatch" on each side of the abdomen eonimunicat- 

 ing behind. 



No. 92779.— Feet gray, with a purplish-olive tinge ; toes, especially the jo'nts, darker, nearly black- 

 ish. Molting ; new feathers protruding on crown and nape. 



No. 89049. — Iris dark brown. Bill, angle of mouth, and ring round the eyes black. Legs clear 

 gray ; tarsus tinged with yellowish, toes with blackish, and soles with reddish. 



No. 92781. — Iris dark hazel. Bill olive-black. Feet gray, with a tinge of yellowish olive; toes 

 darker. 



The Mongolian Plover is a very common summer resident on the Com- 

 mander Islands, in fact, one of the most characteristic birds of their 

 fauna. 



It is one of the brightest and handsomest shore birds, and is always 

 gladly welcomed when making its appearance during the first half of 

 May. I used then to watch with delight these elegant runners, wonder- 

 ing at the almost incredible rapidity with which they move their legs 

 when chasing each other over the pebbly beach, or trying to escape the 

 approaching hunter. Very soon, however, the pairs retire to the 

 place chosen for the summer home, and, as soon as the eggs are laid, 

 the birds become more shy, and do not expose themselves as much as 

 tliey did before. They do not fly directly from the nest either, but 

 run away a distance from it before taking wing. It is therefore ex- 

 ceedingly difficult to find the nest, and I do not wonder that none of 

 the Russian travelers have procured the nest and eggs. I myself 

 only succeeded in finding a few nests with eggs, to be described further 

 on. The eggs were found during the first days of June and young ones 

 about the middle of July. About this time the families retire from the 

 beach and are now met with in the interior, where they ascend the mount- 

 ains in search of tender insects. I frequently met them at an altitude 

 of 1,000 feet or more above sea level. About the middle of September 

 the families return to the lowlands and to the beach, soon afterwards 

 leaving the islands. 



The call-note is a clear, penetrating " drrriiit!" 



While at Glinka, on Copper Island, in July, 1883, a young bird of this 

 species, not yet fully feathertd (the same one described above), was 

 brought to ine alive. Allowed to run free on the floor it immediately com- 

 menced a very animated pursuit of the rather numerous flies, which 

 were caught with remarkable precision and ra[)idity and devoured 

 with an unsatiable appetite. The little fellow did not i)ay any attention 

 to the presence of several persons in the small room, but when the dog 



