22G BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



semble those of the Golden Plover {Charadrius pluvialis) of 

 Europe, that a description of one is equally characteristic of 

 the other. Like that bird, it frequents open plains in the 

 neighbourhood of marshy lands or the sea-beach, runs with 

 amazing facility, and flies with equal rapidity. 



Indications of the black colouring of the breast or breed- 

 ing plumage begin to appear early in the spring, and as the 

 season advances every variety of colouring occurs from the 

 mottled yellow of winter to the uniform black under-surface 

 of summer, which latter state however is but seldom seen ; 

 whence I am induced to doubt its remaining to breed in any 

 of the southern parts of Australia. 



The full summer plumage is as follows : — The whole of the 

 upper surface and tail very dark brown, each feather with a 

 series of oblong yellowish and whitish spots along their mar- 

 gins ; primaries dark brown, with white shafts ; lores, sides 

 of the face, breast and all the under surface black, bounded 

 by a broad mark of white, which crosses the forehead, passes 

 over the eye, down the side of the neck and along the flanks, 

 where it becomes broad and conspicuous ; under wing-coverts 

 and the lengthened feathers covering the insertion of the wing 

 uniform pale silvery brown ; irides dark brown ; bill dark 

 olive ; legs and feet leaden grey. 



In the winter season the black and white markings of the 

 under-surface entirely disappear, and are replaced by a bufFy 

 tint mottled with brown, the mottled appearance being pro- 

 duced by a triangular spot of pale brown at the tip of each 

 feather. 



I formerly considered the Australian Golden Plover to be 

 the Charadrius xanthoclieilus of Wagler, but upon a recon- 

 sideration of the subject I find it is impossible to determine 

 to what species that name was assigned ; I believe that the 

 present bird is the same as the C. orienfalis of Temminck and 

 Schlegel, and that name I therefore adopt. 



