266 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



WILSON'S PLOVER 

 Ochthodromus wilsonius ( Orel) 



A. O, U. Number 280 



General Description. — Length. 8 inches. Color 

 above, ashy-gray: below, pure white. Head large; bill 

 long and large; outer toes webbed halfway. 



Color. — .\dult Male in Summer: Forehead, 

 white, extending backward above eye ; narrow black 

 band across fore crown, not reaching eyes ; lores, dusky ; 

 a white collar continuous with throat, around neck ; 

 upper parts, pale ashy-gray tinged with brown or ocher 

 on back of head and neck, feathers of back and wing- 

 coverts, with lighter edges ; primaries and central tail- 

 feathers, dusky ; the outer pair whitish ; others, color 

 of back, growing darker toward end. and white-tipped; 

 a black half ring on fore-breast not completed around 

 neck ; rest of under parts, pure white ; secondaries, ex- 

 cept inner ones, mostly white on inner web. darker on 

 outer ; bill, black ; legs, flesh color ; iris, dark brown ; 



no colored riiiq arttund eye. Adult M.\le in Winter: 

 Black replaced by dusky-gray. Adult Female: Black 

 on breast of male replaced by dark gray, with a rusty 

 tinge; otherwise similar to summer male. Young: 

 Differ only from the adult female in having no black 

 on crown or lores. 



Nest and Eggs. — Egcs : Laid among the loose peb- 

 bles of the open beaches ; 3. pale olive or greenish-gray, 

 spotted and splashed all over with blackish-brown. 



Distribution. — Southern North America; breeds 

 from Texas eastward along the Gulf coast, and from 

 southeastern Virginia (formerly New Jersey), south to 

 the northern Bahamas ; winters from southern Lower 

 California, Texas, and Florida south to southern Gua- 

 temala and probably to the West Indies ; casual in Nova 

 Scotia and New England, and at San Diego, California. 



Wilson's Plover looks like a bleached and 

 faded copy of the Semipalmated, or else a more 

 robust and darker type of the Piping Plover. 

 Its much larger and stouter bill, however, pro- 

 claims its identity, as does the fact that it is seen 

 in summer on the southern coast, southward of 

 the breeding range even of the Piping Plover, 

 though these ranges inay overlap occasionally on 

 the coast of Virginia. Its favorite haunts are 

 the more retired sand beaches and bars from that 

 State southward and on the Gulf coast, preferably 

 on the ocean front, though it feeds to some extent 

 back on the flats or along inlets. Following the 

 water-line, we meet it singly or in pairs, though 

 there may be several jjairs along a good stretch of 

 beach. Later in the summer, from about July, 

 when the young are on wing, there may be a 

 semblance of flocking. 



By keeping our eyes well " peeled," carefully 

 watching the sand as we walk along, we may spy 

 the spotted eggs lying in a slight cavity of the 

 sand, usually among scattered shells or bunches 

 of weeds or grass, in the dry flat area of white 

 sand above high-water mark. The only nest- 

 building, aside from the scratching out of the 

 hollow, is to line it with a few chips of broken 

 shell. It is hard to see what particular [)urpose 

 this may serve, unless possilily to make the eggs 

 a little less conspicuous. At the best they are 

 not readilv found, and the birds themselves give 



little clue to the whereabouts of their treasures. 

 They are not very shy, and patter along the sand 

 ahead, uttering flute-like notes. For a while they 

 keep flying on ahead, and presently will circle 

 out over the water to the rear. 



Photu by H. K. Job Courtesy ol Houghluii MilHin Co. 



WILSON'S PLOVER 



Its favorite haunts are the more retired sand beaches 



I have found their eggs in southern Florida in 

 late April, and on the shores of South Carolina 

 toward the middle of May. 



Herbert K. Job. 



