54° RrS'GED PLO%"ZR. 



Greenland, as well as on the opposite side of Smith Sound and Davis 

 Strait : but in America prop>er its representative is-:£". seinipalmata, a 

 smaller species with more developed webs between the toes. Ovu- 

 bird reaches Iceland in May and leaves in September, while on the 

 Continent it inhabits most locahties which are suitable, becoming 

 rarer in the interior of compact countries like Russia, and more 

 abimdant in those which present a varied coast line, or are inter- 

 sected bv large rivers. It nests on Kolguev, Novaya Zemlya, and 

 along the northern shores and the higher tundras of Siberia as far 

 as Bering Strait ; migrating southward on the approach of winter. 

 The small race already mentioned occurs as far south as Madeira, 

 the Canaries, and Northern Africa (including Egypt), going down to 

 the Cai)e of Good Hope in the cold season ; while in Central Asia 

 it nests on the large salt lakes as far as Turkestan, and exceptionally 

 it wandeia to the north of India. 



The nest is usually a mere shallow cavit}- in the sand, sometimes 

 lined with small stones, but CoL H. W. Feilden has recorded an 

 exceptional instance in which the green fleshy leaves and the stems of 

 Atripkx littoralis were employed. Laying becomes general by the 

 middle of April, and two broods are usually produced in the season, 

 freshly-hatched yoimg being often found in the first week of August. 

 The eggs, 4 in number, are pear-shaped, and of a stone-buff colour, 

 spotted with black : measurements i "4 by i in. Various devices 

 are practised by the parents to divert attention from their nestHngs, 

 though the latter can run as soon as they emerge from the shell, and 

 are not easily seen, owing to the similarit}' of their colour to the 

 surroundings. The food consists of worms, insects, and thin- 

 skinned crustaceans, such as shrimps, sand-hoppers, &a ; particles 

 of grit being taken to aid digestion. The usual note is a melodious 

 whistle, and the alarm-oy- may be syllabled as pen-y-et. but during 

 the pairing-season the cock has a distinct love-call. 



The adult male in spring has the forehead and a stripe behind 

 each eye white ; fore-crown, lores and sub-ocular region black ; chin, 

 throat and neck white, followed by a black collar, broadest on the 

 breast ; nape and upper parts hair-brown, with a narrow white alar 

 bar ; outer tail-feathers chiefly white, the rest brown with white tips ; 

 lower breast and belly white ; bill black at the point, yellow at the 

 base; legs orange. Length 775; ^"ing 5*25 in.; in the smaller 

 Continental form only 5 in. The female has the black collar less 

 defined, and in winter both sexes are duller in colour. The young 

 bird has the beak blackish, no black band on the fore-crown ; loral 

 strif>e and gorget dusky brown ; legs pale yellow. 



