18 BRITISH BIRDS. 



to the Ringed Plover^ but its notes are very different from that of either of 

 its near allies. 



Its ordinary call-note is a lond, clear, plaintive, and monotonous pee, 

 almost lengthened into two syllables. AVhen alarmed the note is pro- 

 nounced much shorter and repeated more rapidly; and iu spring it is 

 uttered still more rapidly, so as to become continuous, especially at the 

 close of its love-song, when it becomes a trill. 



The Little Ringed Plover is perhaps most active in the pairing-season. 

 When Dixon was in Algeria in the spring of 1882 he noticed that the 

 male often soared into the air like a Lark, and flew about for some 

 considerable time, uttering his peculiar love-song, soaring higher and 

 higher above the sandy -wastes, then gradually descending again. The food 

 of the Little Ringed Plover is composed of insects of various kinds, 

 worms, beetles, grubs, &c., and its stomach usually contains a little 

 gravel or sand. It arrives at its northern breeding-grounds in April, in 

 very early seasons late in March, leaving for the south in August and 

 September. Its eggs are seldom laid before May, often not until June. 

 It makes very slight provision for them, merely scratching a little hollow 

 in the sand or shingle, which it treads into a very neat, round, shallow basin, 

 in which the eggs are laid without any lining. They are four in number, 

 pyriform in shape, pale buff in ground-colour, speckled and streaked with 

 surface-spots of dark and light brown, and with imderlyiug markings of 

 inky grey. The spots are pretty evenly distributed over the surface, but 

 are usually most numerous on the large end. The eggs vary in length 

 from 1*2 to 1'15 inch, and in breadth from "9 to '85 inch. In the 

 streaky nature of their markings the eggs of this bird show an affinity 

 with those of the Kentish Plover, but their lighter colour, more delicate 

 markings, and smaller size readily distinguish them. The eggs are ex- 

 tremely difficult to find, owing to their resembling in colour the surround- 

 ing objects. The bird does not sit very close — in fact, during the day, if 

 the weather be warm and fine, it does not sit on its eggs much, the sun 

 supplying them with sufficient warmth. When the young are hatched the 

 old birds often become very anxious for their safety, and will try to allure 

 an intruder away, or hover above his head, uttering their note incessantly 

 until he takes his depai'ture. 



The Little Ringed Plover does not appear to be so gregarious or sociable 

 a species as the Ringed Plover, and even in winter does not gather into 

 such large companies. Legge says that in Ceylon, where this bird winters 

 in some numbers, it is generally seen alone, with one or two companions 

 not far distant, and that he has never seen more than half a dozen in the 

 same locality, where it sometimes keeps company with Sand-Plovers and 

 associates with the Kentish Plover. 



The Little Ringed Plover is almost an exact miniature of the Ringed 



