280 CHARADRIIDJi;. 



to the accident of the earliest described specimens having 

 been procured by Reaumur iu Switzerland, In Russia 

 the valley of the Volga seems to form a line of migration, 

 by which the flocks pass, in all probability, to the valley of 

 the Kama, thence to the head-waters of the Petchora, and 

 so to their breeding-grounds on the tundras. Beyond 

 the Mediterranean, where birds in the fullest nuptial dress 

 have been observed as late as the 23rd May, the range of the 

 Grey Plover can be traced to the Canaries ; and, in winter, 

 all dowTi both the west and the east coasts of Africa. 

 Madagascar and the neighbouring islands ; India, down to 

 Ceylon ; Malaysia ; both sides of Australia, and Tasmania 

 are also visited. On the coasts of China and Japan this 

 Plover is a well-known migrant ; and in Kamtschatka it 

 probably breeds, as it is found there in summer ; and it may 

 fairly be assumed that it nests in suitable localities across 

 the whole of Arctic Siberia. Passing westward, the Grey 

 Plover is found in summer in Greenland where, however, it 

 is rare ; and Richardson has stated that its eggs were 

 obtained on Melville Peninsula. Mr. R. MacFarlane, when 

 collecting for the Smithsonian Institution, found several 

 nests on the Barren Grounds east of Anderson River, in 

 July, 1864, and others have since been obtained in Alaska. 

 South of the Arctic circle the Grey Plover is only known 

 in America as a migrant; and, as such, this cosmopolitan 

 species ranges down to the islands of the West Atlantic, the 

 Antilles, and the coast of Guatemala. 



The first account of the nesting of the Grey Plover was 

 given by Middendorf (Sibirische Reise, ii. p. 209*), who found 

 it in the year 1843, breeding on the Byrranga Mountains, 

 Taimyr Peninsula, in 74°, and also on the Boganida, in 

 71" N. lat., where it was, however, less abundant than the 

 Golden Plover. On the 26th June he took a clutch of four 

 eggs, which he describes, and one of them is figured {op. cit. 

 pi. xix. fig. 1) ; another taken on the Taimyr on 1st July, 

 is figured by Professor Newton (P. Z. S. 1861, pi, xxxix. 



* Owing to a printer's error this page is numbereil 290, and Las been quoted 

 as such. 



