214 CHARADRITDAA 
edged below by a narrow black band; lower breast and 
abdomen, white; back, scapulars, and wings, brown; 
primaries, dark brown. 
Adult female nuptial—Similar in colour to the male 
plumage. 
Adult winter, male and female. — Breast-band, dull 
brown ; head, back, and wings, umber, shading to sandy- 
buff on the forehead, cheeks, and hind-neck. 
Immature, male and female——More sandy-coloured than 
the adult winter plumage, which it otherwise resembles ; 
feathers of the back and wings, edged with buff. 
BeAK. Blackish. 
FEET. Greenish-olive. 
IripEs. Dusky-hazel. 
Kees. Dull yellow, irregularly spotted with dark brown: 
clutch, three. 
AYERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 
ToraL LENGTH 15) ime 
WING ee a a OG, ae 
BEAK = ee a o  OS ae 
TARSO-METATARSUS eo, aoe 
exes 1:45 1-02 am: 
RINGED PLOVER. 7 ialitis hiaticola (Linnus). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. iv, pl. 
41; Dresser, ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vii, pl. 525; Lilford, 
‘Coloured Figures,’ vol. v, pl. 10. 
This pretty little Plover may be seen at all seasons of 
the year along our coasts. Its numbers increase with the 
arrival of migrants in spring and autumn, and though many 
birds pass northward, a fair proportion remain to breed in 
our Isles. 
The Ringed Plover is most adaptable to its surround- 
ings; its favourite resorts are sandy beaches, but it also 
haunts rocky strands, where, in company with Turnstones, 
it may be seen foraging among stones and sea-wrack for 
food. 
The banks of rivers and the shores of fresh-water lakes 
are also frequented. 
