Malayan Ornithology. 7 



The vernal migration takes place early in the year ; in my 

 note-book is the following passage : — 



" Kwala Kangsar, Pcrak, 22nd February, 1877. This 

 afternoon I paddled down the Pcrak river in a canoe to Cam- 

 pong Saiyong, accompanied by H , on our way getting a 



Golden Plover out of a pair which were sitting on a sand- 

 bank in the middle of the river. 



" A little further on, on another sand-bank, we saw an 

 enormous flock of birds, which every now and then rose with 

 shrill cries, and after flying a few yards settled again, squatting 

 flat on the sand. Not knowing what they were, we stalked 

 them, and bagged six, losing three more, which fell into the 

 river and were swept away. 



" At first I took them to be the European Pratincole, but 

 now see, as stated by Jerdon, that they differ from that 

 species in having the tail less forked ; they must be migrating, 

 as on no former occasion have I seen any here ; and their being 

 in such numbers, and so easily approached, makes it still more 

 probable that they are on passage. When fired at the big 

 flock broke up into small parties of from ten to twenty ; but 

 after a short time they all returned to the sand-banks. While 

 on the wing, flying close over the surface of the water, the 

 most noticeable points about them were their Swallow-like 

 wings and white rumps. ^^ 



In plumage the sexes are alike ; but immature birds which 

 I shot in Singapore during September were not nearly so 

 decidedly marked as the adults, moreover they were much 

 mottled and freckled with brown. The pectinated middle claw, 

 large eye, wide gape, their flight, and the way they crouch 

 flat on the ground, all seem to point to a relationship between 

 these birds and the Caprimulgidae. 



Squatarola helvetica (Gm.). The Grey Plover. 



Identical with the European species. The Grey Plover is 

 common among the islands and along the coasts of the penin- 

 sula from October to March, but appears to breed further 

 north. On 13th April 1879, I had over a dozen brought to 

 me, which had just been caught on the coast a few miles 



