CHARADRIID.E — CHA RA DRIIX.E : FLO VER. 



779 



authors. C. erythropus Gm. 1788. C. philippimis Lath. 1790. C. minor Wolf and 



Meyer, 1805. C. fliiviatilis Bechst. 1809. 

 1821. C. liiaticuloides Frankl. 1631. C. 

 Sw. 1837. C. gracilis and C. pygmccus 

 Brehm. 1855. Hiaiicula simplex Light. 

 1854. ^gialitis microrhynchus Ridgw. 

 Am. Nat. viii, 1874, p. 109, San Francisco, 

 Cal. ^. diibia A. O. U. No. [276]. 

 IE,, melo'da. (Lat. ineloda, melodious. 

 Fig. 5:32.) Piping Plover. Pale Ring- 

 neck. Adult ^, in summer: Above, 

 ver}' pale ash, lighter than any other North 

 American species. A white half-collar 

 round back of neck. A black ring behind 

 this, tending to encircle neck ; but I have 

 seldom seen it complete on cervix, and as 

 H matter of fact it is seldom complete on 

 fore-neck either ; there is ordinarily a link 

 only on each side of neck. A black coro- 

 nal bar from one eye to the other. Fore- 

 head, sides of head, and entire under parts 

 snowy-white, excepting black on sides of 



C. minutus Pall. 1811. C. piisilliis Horsf. 

 intermedins M^netrier, 1832. C. zonatus 



'^%V 



M^^ ^ 



Fig. 531. — Lesser Ring Plover. (From Seebohm's Oiara- 



neck, there being no dark bars on lores ""■""*•) 

 or sides of head. Primaries dusky, with large white spaces, their shafts white for a corre- 

 spcjnding extent. Secondaries and greater coverts mostly white ; long inner secondaries like 

 back. Upper tail-coverts and bases of tail-feathers white ; the latter blackening toward their 

 ends, the outer pair or two entirely white. A colored ring round eye. Bill orange or yellow, 



the end beyond nasal fossa) black. Feet 

 like base of bill. Web between outer and 

 middle toe not reaching t<< end of basal joint 

 of the latter. Rather smaller than semi- 

 p(dmata: length 6.50-7.00; wing 4.50- 

 4.75 ; tail 2.00-2.25 ; bill under 0.50, very 

 obtuse, and stout for its length ; tarsus 

 0.87 ; middle toe and claw 0.75. Adult ? : 

 Coronal bar reduced to a dark brown trace; 

 ringing of neck reduced to a dusky-gray 

 spot on each side. Young : Resembling 9 

 as just said, but no trace of dark color on 

 head and little if any on sides tif neck; 

 feathers of u]>per ])arts with pale or rusty 

 edgings; bill mostly black. The .sexes are 

 indistinguisliable in winter, then resembling 

 the adiilf 9 '" summer; the assumption 

 of the black Tuarkings ..f tlic ^ is gradual, and probably perfected by such individuals as 

 have been called eirciimcinctit. A very pretty little species, with its pale dry-saml colored 

 upper parts and stumpy bill; i>erfectly distinct from the common Rimr-neck, with wliich 

 it is often found associated. U. S. and British Provinces, ea.st of the Rocky Mts. (beyond 

 which apparently replaced by jE. nirosa) ; abundant along the Atlantic coast of the 

 U. S., breeding nt.rlh to the St. Lawrence and some parts <if Labrador, wintering from tho 



Fio. r>3'2. —Piping Plover. (From Seebohm's Charadriidse.) 



