PLOVERS 167 



the Stone Curlew, with photographs of eggs in situ, 

 Zool, 1891, p. 401. 



GOLDEN PLOVER. Gharadrius pluvialis, Linnseus. 

 PI. 19, figs. 2, 3. Length, 11 m. ; bill, 1 in.; 

 wing, 7 "75 in. ; tarsus, 1'5 in. 



Breeds on the moors in Scotland and the north 

 of England, and sparingly in Devon and Somerset. 

 To the eastern and southern counties of England 

 it is a winter visitant. Prof. Newton believes 

 that he has seen the Golden Plover on Thetford 

 Warren during every month in the year, but that 

 it does not breed there. Thompson noted this bird 

 as permanently resident in Ireland, and mentions 

 many localities where it breeds regularly. As 

 observed by Mr. Laidlaw in Peeblesshire, it some- 

 times carries its young like the Woodcock (Zool., 

 1888, p. 301). 



In August the birds which have bred here begin 

 to flock, and quit the moors for the lower grounds, 

 where in September and October their numbers are 

 augmented by the arrival of innumerable flocks 

 from the Continent. By that time they have lost 

 all traces of the black breast which is characteristic 

 of the breeding plumage. The axillary feathers 

 are at all seasons white. 



The Golden Plover when in good condition will 

 weigh from 8 oz. to 10 oz. 



For an article on "Plover-Catching in France," 

 see my "Essays on Sport and Natural History," pp. 

 201-205. 



