i68 



British Birds. 



THE ASIATIC 

 DOTTREL. 



{Ochthodromus 

 nsinticus.) 



The Asiatic Dottrel. 



it with grass and leaves. The eggs are precisely 



similar to those of the Golden Plover, but are 



rather smaller, and measure about an inch-and- 



three-quarters to two inches. 



This species is distin- 

 guished from the Sand-Plovers 

 (^^gialitls] by its much stouter 

 bill, and by the chestnut band 

 across the chest in the summer 



plumage. In winter the chest is brown, but the 



young birds can always be told from our ordinary 



Ringed Plovers by their longer legs (tarsus 1-35 



inch). A specimen in summer plumage was shot 



in Norfolk, in May, 1890. The home of the 



species is in the Kirghis Steppes and Central Asia, whence it ranges into 



East Africa in winter. Both in its summer and winter home, it is an inhabitant 



of the steppes and grass-lands. 



This handsome little Plover is recognised by its white 



THE DOTTREL. u ^ 1 j ui 1 ,. j , , , u 



cnest-band, black breast and abdomen, and orange-chestnut 

 {Eiidromias 



morinellus I Hanks. Although not so plentiful as in former years, the 



Dottrel is still found breeding on the moors of Cumberland 



and Westmoreland, and in the highlands of Scotland. It also breeds on the 



mountains of Scandinavia and Central Siberia as well as on the high ground of 



other parts of Europe. It is a wonderfully 



tame bird near its nest, and last summer 



(1897) I captured a young nestling on one 



of the high mountains of the Sundal Valley 



in Norway. The old bird did not attempt 



to fly away, but ran round us within a few 



yards, and finally led off its youngster in 



triumph when I let the latter go. The 



eggs are deposited in a hollow in the 



moss, and are three in number, of a gre\nsh 



stone-colour, tinged with olive, and largely 



blotched with black, rufous, and grey ; 



the length is a little over one-inch-and-a- 



quarter. 



The present species 



belongsto a little group of 



Sand-Plovers, which have 



a long tail, measuring 



The Dottrel. 



THE KILL-DEER 



DOTTREL. 



i^Oxyeclnts 



vocifcrui.) 



