I ^o 



PLOVER GROUP 



which nica.surc between i inch ar.cl i^j^ inches in length, vary in 

 ground-colour from olixe-buff to huffish brown of different shades, 

 and arc somewhat thickly marked with spots and blotches of blackish 

 and chocolate-brown, with faint underlying shadings of pale purple ; 

 in man}' cases the brown markings are larger and more numerous at 

 the larger end of the egg. 



Gpev Phalarooe ^^^^^ 5^''cy phalarope, the Eryviophilus fulicariiis of 



(PhalaroDus some ornithologists, is a rather larger bird than the 



fulicarius) ''^^^' ^•'O'^'' ^^liich it is readily distinguished by the 



flat beak, which is broader than high, and also 



broader than the shank of the leg, which latter is not longer than the 



middle toe and claw. The toes are also half-webbed with larger lobes, 



GREY PHALAKOPK. 



while the back of the shank of the leg is serrated. There is likewise 

 a greater difference between the summer and winter plumages, the 

 former being distinctly red and the latter grey ; a feature in which 

 the present species agrees with many mammals, such as the roebuck 

 and the white-tailed deer, thus serving to confirm the view that a change 

 from red in summer to grey in winter is a law of animal coloration, 

 although occurring, of course, only in certain instances. 



The breeding -range of this species is circumpolar, but more 

 exclusively Arctic than that of its red-necked cousin, apparently not 



