BRITAIN S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 83 



together the history and evolution of the members of our 

 avifauna. The Ringed Plover is in this respect but one 

 of many, and systematists have in recent years come 

 to recognise that species are not indivisible, but may 

 comprise a number of sub-species, local forms, or geo- 

 gi'aphical races — call them what you will. The recognition, 

 however, brings in its train new and more cumbrous 

 systems of classification and nomenclature, without which 

 the systematists could not easily work. It is these in- 

 novations in nomenclature which often make the naturalist 

 who concerns himself solely with field-work condemn this 

 subdivision as mere scientific pedantry. 



But these races may be said to be possible species in the 

 making, and the study of them is therefore in itself a matter 

 of interest and importance. Indirectly the study of such 

 races may facilitate the study of geographical distribution, 

 migration, and so on. Where the facts concerning a whole 

 species may be too vague and general to reveal much detail, 

 the facts naiTOwed down to a single race may prove easy to 

 handle and analyse. 



As regards general and nesting habits, such closely allied 

 races do not appear to present any notable differences, except 

 of course where the circumstances of the respective areas 

 they inhabit exert an influence. For purposes of the study 

 of habits, then, the field-natiiralist may still treat of a species 

 as a whole, as we do in this work. 



The Ringed Plover, or ' Sand Lark,' as it is often popularly 

 termed, is essentially a shore-bird, and is seldom to be met 

 with except on the low-lying portions of the coast. In 

 autumn and winter it frequents the sandy shore and the 

 tidal mud-flats of bays and estuaries. At this time it 

 usually assembles in small parties of six or eight, or sometimes 

 in flocks of greater size. We may come across the birds at 

 low-tide, feeding on the mud. Probably, if we are not look- 



