SNOWY PLOVER 249 



young are approached the parents use all the artifices known to sim- 

 ilar species to distract the attention of the intruder, fluttering along 

 as if both wings and legs were helpless, or grovelling in the sand as 

 if wounded. Such tactics often succeed in fooling a dog and enticing 

 him far enough away but to human beings they are only an incentive 

 to look carefully for the tiny balls of down that, obedient to their 

 parents' note of warning, are crouched immovable and well-nigh 

 invisible in some little hollow in the sand or under or against some 

 object on the beach. And there the little one remains " frozen " until 

 touched or until sure that he is observed ; when, presto, off he goes, 

 running at a marvelous pace on his strong little legs. We watch 

 him for some time as he scampers away for a long distance until 

 suddenly he vanishes; then, unless we have marked him down 

 exactly and kept our eyes on the spot, we had better give up hope of 

 finding him again. 



Plumages. — The downy young snowy plover is quite unlike the 

 young piping plover. The entire upper parts are pale buff, " cream 

 buff " to " cartridge buff," mixed with grayish white. The crown, 

 back, rump, wings, and thighs are distinctly and quite evenly spotted 

 with black. The under parts are pure white. 



In the Juvenal plumage the crown, mantle, rump, cheeks, and a 

 space in front of the wing are " drab," or " light drab," with a 

 pinkish buff tinge on the tips of the feathers; the forehead and all 

 under parts are white. The first winter plumage is similar, without 

 the buffy edgings. 



Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in late summer and fall, 

 and a partial prenuptial molt in early spring. Males in nuptial 

 plumage have the crown and nape " pinkish buff," and a broad band 

 above the forehead, an auricular patch and a patch in front of the 

 wing abruptly clear black. In females the crown is pale drab, like 

 the back, and the dark markings are more restricted and more 

 brownish. In winter the sexes are alike, similar to the spring 

 female, but the dark markings are even duller, about the same tone 

 as the back. 



Food. — Snowy plover feed mainly on the sandy beaches, foraging 

 on the wet sand and at the surf line, where they are expert at 

 dodging the incoming waves and very lively, running up and down 

 the beach as the waves advance or recede. Here they often forage in 

 compact bunches, picking up small crustaceans, marine worms, or 

 other minute marine organisms. Inland they feed along the muddy 

 or alkaline shores of ponds or lakes, on various insects, such as beetles 

 or flies. Dr. A. K. Fisher (1893) says: 



This handsome little plover was observed by the writer on the shores of 

 Owens Lake, near Keeler, May 30 to June 4, where it was common in small 

 flocks of 5 or 10 on the alkaline flats which border the lake. Like most 



