178 Mr. H. E. Dresser on 



caspia and Turkestan, and is found in Persia, Afghanistan, 

 Northern India, and North-east Africa in winter. As a rare 

 straffsrler it has also occurred in the south of France and at 

 Malta. In Southern Russia it is a characteristic species of 

 the Aralo-Caspian region, whence it has strayed as far north 

 as Orenburg, having been obtained in that district on several 

 occasions. According to Mr. Zarudny, the White-tailed 

 Plover frequents the clayey and saline plains which surround 

 the bare shores of the lakes and morasses of Transcaspia. 

 These plains are to some extent covered with low vegetable 

 growth and scattered patches of short grass, and it does 

 not seem to matter to the bird whether the lakes and 

 morasses are of fresh or saline water. In its general habits 

 it much resembles Chettusia gregaria, but there is a difference 

 in its cry, which it is not easy to describe. It is extremely 

 lively and vivacious, and fond of the society of its congeners. 

 It runs with great facility, and is at least as active on the wing 

 as Vanellus vulgaris, while in the pairing-season it indulges in 

 aerial evolutions similar to those of that species. It is also 

 wary and watchful to a degree, and should anyone approach 

 the nesting-places it apprises other birds of the danger by its 

 loud cries, flying off to meet the intruder, and making use 

 of every artifice to lure him away. Owing to its extreme 

 caution and watchfulness, other species affect its com- 

 panionship to a large extent ; and where this bird is found it 

 is impossible to stalk Swans, Geese, and other large birds, 

 for directly the gunner arrives in the vicinity the White- 

 tailed Plover flies over him and with loud cries warns the 

 denizens of the morass of the impending danger. 



The present species is never found far from water, and 

 seeks either on the shore or in the shallows its food, which 

 consists of worms, aquatic insects of various kinds and their 

 larvae. During the hottest part of the day it either rests on 

 the shores of the lakes or in water which reaches up to its 

 belly. 



The White-tailed Plover breeds in isolated pairs, but, as a 

 rule, in spots not far distant from others of its own or allied 

 species. The nest is usually placed on the shore of a lake 



