546 KILLDEER PLOVER. 



spring. In New England it is by no means plentiful, its line of 

 passage being more to the west ; but exceptionally it visits Maine, 

 and large flocks were observed near Portland between 28th and 30th 

 November 1888. 



The nest is usually a mere hollow in the ground, without any 

 lining beyond a few bits of dry grass, or fragments of small shells 

 arranged in the form of a ring. The eggs, 4 in number, are pear- 

 shaped, and of a creamy-white colour blotched with dark purplish- 

 brown, much resembling those of our Ringed Plover, though larger 

 in size : measurements i"6 by I'l in. During incubation the parents 

 sit in turns upon their eggs, nor do they leave them by night or day 

 unless disturbed, in which case they are very noisy and resort to the 

 usual manoeuvres of Plovers to divert the attention of the intruder. 

 The note — to which the species owes its name — resembles the 

 syllables kill-dee rapidly enunciated, generally in a loud clear tone, 

 which often startles wild-fowl and renders this bird an object of 

 dislike to the native hunter. The food consists of worms, insects 

 and small crustaceans, chiefly obtained on inland pools and swamps ; 

 the actual sea-coast being rarely frequented by the Killdeer Plover, 

 although it may be found on the neighbouring lagoons or back- 

 waters. 



The adult has the forehead and a streak behind the eye white ; 

 fore-crown banded with black ; lores, crown, nape and upper parts 

 umber-brown, with rufous margins to some of the long secondaries ; 

 alar bar and portions of the quills white ; rump, tail-coverts, and 

 basal portion of the long tail-feathers rufous, the subterminal por- 

 tions of the latter being barred with black and tipped with white ; 

 throat and under parts white, with two black bands across the chest ; 

 bill black ; legs yellowish-grey. Length 9*5 in. ; wing 6*5 in. The 

 sexes are alike in plumage ; the young are more conspicuously 

 marked with pale rufous on the upper parts. The Killdeer is a 

 larger bird than the Ringed Plover, and its proportionally longer 

 tail and legs give it a very graceful appearance. 



For many of the above particulars I am indebted to ' The Water- 

 birds of North America.' 



