88 



PLOVER GROUP 



is a migratory bird, nesting in the colder regions of Europe and Asia 

 as far north as the Arctic circle, and wintering in the Mediterranean 

 countries, India, Burma, and Australia. The breeding-range of the 

 species is unusually wide as regards latitude, extending from the 

 marshes of Holland and Belgium to the Siberian tundras. The 

 draining of the Lincolnshire fens put a stop to its breeding in that 

 part of England as early as 1829, but a single nest is recorded from 

 Norfolk so late as 1857.^ 



The distinctive feature of the black-tailed godwit is, as indicated 



I STUDIOS 



ni.ACK-TAII.KI) GUDU IT. 



by its name, that the terminal half of the tail is mostl)- black and 

 devoid of barring, while the basal half is white. As in the second 

 species, the general tone of the summer-dress is red and that of the 

 winter-plumage greyish brown, a feature in which these birds resemble 

 many mammals, such as the roe-buck, red deer, and white-tailed deer. 



Compared with the bar-tailed species, described next, the black- 

 tailed godwit in summer is duller in colour, the upper-parts being 

 pale chestnut, deepening on the back and wings to dusky brown 



' This is the dale given in Stevenson's Birds of Norfolk, and in Harting's Handbook of 

 British Birds, where the cessation of breeding in Lincf)lnshire is given as 1813; in 

 Saunders's Yarrell the former date is given as 1S47. 



