212 HILL BIRDS OF SCOTLAND 



regards the Golden Plover, but recent expeditions over 

 Ptarmigan ground have shown me that the Ptarmigan 

 nesting on the high plateaux over 3000 feet above sea- 

 level showed noticeably richer and more striking tints of 

 plumage than a bird examined on a grouse moor 500 feet 

 or more below the former altitude. 



Winter comes early to the lands within the Arctic Circle, 

 and thus it is that even while summer still lingers with us, 

 the advance guard of the northern hosts of waders begin 

 to appear on our moorlands and shores. These early 

 arrivals are chiefly young birds which make the southern 

 stage immediately they are sufficiently strong on the 

 wing to do so. Right up to November fresh arrivals 

 pass over us, or perhaps take up their winter quarters on 

 our coasts. Vast flocks of Golden Plover cross Heligoland 

 every autumn on their way to their southern winter 

 quarters, coming from the fjords and tundras of the north. 

 Some of these voyagers traverse the North Sea and winter 

 on our coasts, others pass south along the coast-lines to 

 Spain, and from there press on to Northern Africa. Their 

 principal winter quarters are said to be in the basin of 

 the Mediterranean. The birds nesting in Siberia pursue 

 a different southerly course, passing over Russia into 

 the Crimea and thence as far south as Palestine. 



Description. — So striking are the changes of plumage 

 in the Golden Plover that Linnaeus imagined two distinct 

 species to exist. In summer he gave it the name Charad- 

 rius apicariusy while in winter it was to him Charadrius 

 pluvialis. 



In the plumage of the pairing season the male has the 

 upper parts black, mixed sparingly with golden yellow. 

 On the hinder scapulars a yellow band is present. The 

 wing coverts are dark grey tipped with yellow, except 

 those on the margins, which are white-tipped. The tail 

 is dark, and is partially barred with creamy white. The 



