GREY PLOVER 233 
of me, and it was most interesting to see some of them 
suddenly coming to a standstill right in the middle of the 
bright path formed by the moon’s rays, which were, at the 
time, casting a gleam over the boundless shore and tide. 
In my experience this bird is tamer at night than in the 
day, though I have little doubt that it can discern an 
intruder at some distance. Its plaintive cry of alarm may 
be heard in the darkness a long way off, yet I have 
approached within easy shooting-range by simply walking 
up to the bird. 
Food.—The food consists of various marine insects, 
minute shell-fish and vegetable matter, obtained for the most 
part on the strand, but sometimes the bird will enter the 
water and swim for a short distance in pursuit of tiny fish 
and shrimps; Mr. A. Williams writes me that he has noticed 
‘Grey Plovers walk into the water until they were out of 
their depth and then swim a distance of some feet from the 
edge of the strand, apparently seeking food, as I observed 
them picking at some objects under the surface ; some of 
them would take flight back again to the gravel, rising 
heavily out of the water.” 
Voice.—The Grey Plover is a very noisy coast-bird. Its 
cry 1s almost as incessant as that of the Redshank or 
Curlew. On the slightest provocation, it pours forth its 
wailing whistle, which sounds something like ¢léé-ih, or 
chée-cé. Not conspicuous on the ground, it soon betrays its 
presence by its voice to the shore-shooter whom it cleverly 
evades by its wariness, comparatively few birds falling 
victims on the open strand to the ordinary shoulder-gun. 
Flight.—On the wing it pursues a less tortuous path 
than the Golden Plover, but the flight of the two species 
is equally strong and swift. 
Nest.—The nest is a mere scraping in the bare ground, 
or in grassy or moor-land soil. The eggs, four in number, 
are on an average darker in ground-colour, than those of 
the Golden, but lghter than those of the Green Plover, 
and, like the eggs of both the latter species, they are richly 
spotted and blotched with brownish-black (Seebohm). 
Geographical distribution.—The breeding-range covers 
avast area of the Arctic regions of Kastern HKurope, Asia, 
and America, but to Iceland, Scandinavia, and Greenland, 
the bird is a rare visitant. Many eggs and young were 
taken on the Tundras of the Petchora in 1875 by Mr. Harvie- 
Brown and the late Mr. Seebohm (Seebohm, ‘ Siberia in 
