RINGED PLOVER 



71 



along the middle of the crown, a dark transverse bar across the back 

 of the head, and a white nape to the neck. 



Even among birds so solicitous and resourceful in regard to the 

 safety of their eggs and young as are the members of the plover tribe 

 in general, the ringed plover occupies an exceptional position, showing 

 more anxiety and concern than do any of the others ; and it is by 

 this very anxiety that its presence is frequently revealed. Although 

 during the breeding-season they can be approached with less difficulty 

 than at other times, these birds are also much more shy than most 



LITTLE KINGKD, AND KINGKD PLOVEK. 



of their relatives, and feeding on mud-flats in company with dunlins, 

 as is their frequent custom, they take wing long before the latter 

 display the slightest concern at the approach of intruders. 



The nest is generally a mere hollow scratched in the sand, unless 

 indeed the bird avails itself of some ready-made hole ; the sandy 

 hollow being in many cases at least surrounded by pebbles to which 

 the eggs present a very strong resemblance. Indeed, it has been 

 stated that the colouring of the eggs varies according to the ground 

 upon which they are laid, but this apparently stands in need of 

 confirmation. In the eggs themselves, which vary in length from 

 i^ to just over i^ inches, and are moderately glossy, the ground- 



