NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



513. Black-bellied Plover — squatarola helvetica. Brownish-drab 

 or clay color, thickly and heavily marked with spots and blotches of 

 brownish-black, often confluent and sometimes very irregular at the greater 

 end; pyriform; four in number; size from 1.40 to 1.45 broad by 1.90 to 

 2.30 long. This bird is known by several different names: Ox-eye, Whist- 

 ling Field Plover, Bullhead Plover and Swiss Plover. In America it breed.s 

 in the Arctic regions and possibly further south on the Pacific coast; 

 flocking south and north in fall and spring. The nest, Hke that of all mem- 

 bers of the order so far as known, is placed on the ground — the eggs being 



laid in a depression of the soil. Hab, Nearly cosmopolitan. 



515. American Golden Plover — charadrius dominicus. Deep choco- 

 late-brown, spotted and blotched irregularly with confluent markings of 

 varying shades of brown; two to four in number; size about 2. 10 by 1.40. 

 The eggs look very large for the size of the bird. Nest composed of a 

 few leaves within a natural cavity of the ground. This bird breeds in the 

 Arctic regions. It inhabits North America at large, passing north and 

 south in spring and fall. In the latter season it is well known to the gun- 

 ners, and it is generally highly esteemed for the table on account of its 

 size, abundance and other qualities. The Golden Plover has a number of 

 names, some of which are also applied to the Black-bellied : Field Plover 

 and Bull-head. 



516. Killdeer — oxyechus vociferus. Drab or clay-color, thickly 

 spotted and blotched with blackish-brown and umber, small end quite 

 pointed, as is usually the case with all eggs of birds of this order; the eggs 

 are generally four in number, measuring from 1.50 to 1.60 long by about 

 1. 10 broad. This familiar bird whose notes, kil-decr, kil-dccr, are heard in 

 the day-time and often in moonlight nights, more frequently during the 

 breeding season than at any other time, is very abundant in North America 

 at large, breeding anywhere. The nest is placed oh the ground, usually 

 in the vicinity of a stream or pond, and often on an elevated spot in the 

 grass. It is merely a slight depression of the ground. The bird frequents 

 both high and low grounds, pastures and fallow fields as well as borders of 

 streams. 



517. Semipalmated Plover — ^gialites semipalmatus. Varying from 

 greenish to yellowish-ash, spotted, blotched and dotted with varying shades 

 of brown ; pyriform ; scarcely distinguishable from those of the Killdeer, 

 excepting in size; length 1.20 to 1.40 by .90 to .95 in breadth ; two to 

 four in number. The Ring Plover or Ring-neck is abundant, and is gener- 



