GOLDEN PLOVER. 185 



American Golden Plover. Cha7'adrhis doviinicns Miill. 

 Eastern Golden Plover. C, dominicus ftUvus Gmel. 



The eastern race of this small Golden Plover ranges through 

 eastern Siberia to Alaska, where it meets the Arctic American 

 form. The American bird is known to travel in autumn to 

 South America by an oversea route of about 2500 miles, not 

 always breaking the journey at the Bermudas, but its return in 

 spring is through Central America and overland. The Asiatic 

 race reaches New Zealand, whilst some birds wander westward, 

 not infrequently into Europe. It is not surprising that occa- 

 sionally the Atlantic travellers are wind-drifted eastward, and 

 that some of the eastern birds reach Britain ; indeed, it is 

 possible that many are unrecognised amongst the large flocks 

 of our winter birds. On about four dates the American Golden 

 Plover has been recorded from England, Scotland, and Ireland, 

 all in autumn, but nearly twice as many Asiatic birds have 

 been met with in autumn or winter in the south of England 

 and once in the Orkneys ; there is one spring record. 



Beside being smaller birds, both sub-species differ from our 

 Golden Plover in having smoke-grey and not white axillaries. 

 The legs are proportionately longer. In winter the feather 

 margins are paler, so that it is not unlike the Grey Plover in 

 winter dress. In summer dress. Miss Haviland points out, the 

 Asiatic bird is brighter in its yellows and more intense in its 

 blacks than ours. The most noticeable difference between the 

 two races is in size, but the larger American bird is duller in 

 its colours. The bill is olive-brown, the legs lead-grey, and 

 the irides dark brown. American : Length, 9'5 ins. Wing, 

 675 ins. Tarsus, i'6 ins. Eastern : Length, 9 ins. Wmg, 

 6*5 ins. Tarsus, i"5 ins. 



