BIRDS CHARADRIDAE — SQUATAROLA HELVETICA. 697 



SQUATAROLA. HELVETICA, (Liiin.)Cuv. 



Black-bellied Plover. 



Tringa helvetica, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, ] 766, 250. 



Squtttarola helvetica, Cvy. R. A. 1817. 



Charadrius helvetkus, Licht. Verz. 1827, No. 728.— AuD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 280 ; pi. 334.— Ib. Syix. 291.— Ib. 



Birds Amer. V, 1842, 199 ; pi. 315. 

 Tringa squalarola, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 252. 

 Charadrius hypomelas, Pallas, Zoog. Ross. As. II, 1811, 138. 

 Charadrius purdda, PALLA',Zoog. Ross. As. II, 1811, 142. 

 Charadrius apricarius, Wilson, Am. Orn. VII, 1813, 41. 

 Squalarola cinerea, Cuv. 

 Squalarola wilsonii, Lichtenstein. 

 Figures.— Buffon, PI. Enl. 853, 854, 923.— Wilson, Am. Orn. VII, pi. 57, fig. 4.— And. B. of Am. pi. 334 ; oct. ed. V, pi. 

 315 — Naumann, B. of Germany, pi. 178.— Gould, B. of Eur. IV, pi. 290. 



Sp. Ch.— Bill and legs strong'; wings long ; a very small rudimentary hind toe. Around the base of the bill to the eyes, neck 

 before and under parts of body, black ; upper white, nearly pure and unspotted on tlie forehead ; sides of the neck and rump 

 tinged with ashy, and having irregular transverse bars of hrovvnisli black on the back, scapulars and wing coverts ; the brownish 

 black frequently predominating on those parts, and the rump also frequently with transverse bars of the same. Lower part of 

 the abdomen, tibia and under tail coverts, while. Quills brownish black, lighter on their inner webs, with a middle portion of 

 their shafts white, and a narrow longitudinal stripe of white frequently on the shorter primaries and secondaries. Tail white, 

 with transverse imperfect narrow bands of black. Bill and legs black. The black color of the under parts generally with a 

 bronzed or'coppery lustre, and presenting a scale-like appearance ; the brownish black of the upper parts with a greenish lustre. 

 Younger and unnter plumage . Entire upper parts dark brown, with circular and irregular small spots of white, and frequently of 

 yellow, most numerous on the wing coverts ; upper tail coverts white. Under parts white, with short longitudinal lines and 

 spots dark brownish cinereous on the neck and breast; quills brownish black, with large longitudinal spots of white on their 

 inner webs and also on the outer webs of the shorter primaries. Young. Upper parts lighter, and with the white spots more 

 irregular or scarcely assuming a circular shape ; narrow lines on the neck and breast more numerous. 



Total length about IH inches ; wing, 7| ; tail, 3 inches. 



Hub. — All of North America. The seacoasts of nearly all countries of the world . 



This handsome plover is one of the most widely diffused of birds. It inhabits the seacoasts 

 and districts on the borders of fresh or salt waters of all known countries within the temperate 

 and tropical zones. The black parts of the plumage in this species, which are characteristic of 

 the adult bird in spring, are more persistent than ia Ch. virginicics, and much more frequently 

 to be observed in specimens obtained in the middle and southern States. 



This bird is the largest of the American species of this group. 



We can find no characters distinguishing American specimens from those of any other 

 country. 



Au^st 3, 1858. 



