258 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. x 



A. a. aru/ndinaceufi. — Primaries : — 1st half to three-quarters 

 as long as primary-coverts, .3rd longest, 2ncl 5-3 mm. shorter 

 but exceptionally equal to 3rd, 4th 2-4 shorter than 3rd and 

 always shorter than 2nd, 5th 5-7 shorter and 6th 0-11 shorter 

 than 3rd. 



A. a. orientalis. — Primaries : — 1st as above, 3rd longest, 

 2nd 1-4 mm. shorter, 4th occasionalh' equal to 3rd but usually 

 1-2 mm. shorter, usually longer than 2nd but occasionallj^ 

 equal to it and never shorter, 5th 2-5 shorter and 6th 5-8 

 shorter than 3rd. 



The legs and feet of A. a. orientalis are said to be more 

 blueish-grey and less brownish than in A. a. arundinacevs. 



The bird recorded by Mr. Nichols is small if correctly sexed, 

 its measurements being as nearh' as can be ascertained from 

 a mounted specimen as follows : — Aving 78 mm. tail 68, tarsus 

 26, bill from skull 21. 



Its primaries measured as follows : — 3rd and 4th equal and 

 longest, 2nd 4 mm. shorter, 5th 2 shorter, 6th 4 shorter. 

 As sheaths were attached to the bases of the 2nd and some 

 of the other primaries when I first examined the bird, the 

 relative lengths might have altered very slightl}' by perhaps 

 a millimetre of further growth. The tail-feathers were also 

 in sheath. For these reasons I conclude that this bird cannot 

 be a young bird in its first winter plumage, as the young of 

 this and the typical form never moult the wing- or tail- 

 feathers in the first autumn. 



iSEMi-rALMATED RiNGED Plover {Charadrius semipalmah(s). 



In their plumage this species and the Ringed Plover are 

 very similar, but there are some distinct differences of which 

 Miss A. C. Jackson ha« kindly given me notes. These are 

 briefly set out below. 



The webbing between the toes which is scarcely noticeable 

 in Ch. hiaticula is very distinct in Ch. semipalmatus even in 

 newly hatched A^oung. Between the inner and middle toes 

 the webbing measured from the junction of the tAvo toes to 

 the centre of its outer edge is 3 mm., whereas in Ch. hiaticula 

 the webbing between these toes is hardly observable. Be- 

 tween the outer and middle toes the webbing measured in the 

 same way extends to 6 mm. in Ch. semijjalmatus, or exjjressed 

 in another way the webbing on the inner toe extends in Ch. 

 semipalmatus half-way to the first joint while in Ch. hiaticula 

 it is only observable just at the base of the toe ; on the outer 

 toe the webbing extends in Ch. semipalmatus to about half- 

 way between the first and second joints and in Ch. hiaticula 

 only to the first joint. 



