PLOVERS. 173 



272. Charadrius dominicus Mull. American Golden Plover; 



Greenback. Ad. 171 sum/tier. — Upper parts black, spotted and margined 

 with golden yellow ; tail brownish gray, indistinctly barred with whitish ; 

 sides of the breast white ; rest of the under parts, including sides of the head, 

 black; under wing-coverts ashy. Winter plumage. — Upper parts and tail 

 fuscous, spotted or barred with whitish or yellow ; under parts whitish, more 

 or less streaked or barred with brownish gray. L., 10'50; W., T'OO ; Tar., 

 1-60; B., -90. 



Remarks. — Immature birds are sometimes confused with those of the Black- 

 bellied Plover, but, aside from differences of size and color, the absence of the 

 fourth toe in the present species will always distinguish it. 



Range. — Breeds in the arctic regions ; winters from Florida to Patagonia. 



Washington, rare and irregular T. V. Long Island, T. V., very rare in 

 May ; common from Aug. 15 to Nov. 10. 



Eggs., three to four, ochraceous- butt or butfy white, heavily marked with 

 chocolate, 1-85 x 1-28. 



Golden Plovers frequent marshes, sandy hills, old fields, sand-flats 

 exposed by the falling tide, plowed fields, and burned tracts which are 

 free of trees and bushes. When on the ground they run rapidly and 

 gracefully, and after alighting soon scatter. All their movements are 

 quick, and after running a few yards they suddenly stop, hold their 

 head erect, and look about them. In feeding they seem to strike at 

 an object with a motion that reminds one of a Loon or Grebe begin- 

 ning to dive. 



When a flock is approaching decoys, every bird seems to be whis- 

 tling, uttering a note like coodle, coodle, coodle. Unlike the Black- 

 bellied Plover, the young birds are wary and more difficult to decoy 

 than the old ones. When driven from a favorite restmg or feeding 

 ground they generally return in a short time. (Abridged from Mr. 

 George H. Mackay's account of the habits of this species in The Auk, 

 viii, 1891, pp. 17-24.) 



The European Golden Plover {271. Chtiradrlus apricarius) occurs in 

 eastern Greenland. It resembles our species, but has the under wing-coverts 

 white instead of gray. 



2*73. .ZB^ialitis vocifera (Linn.). Killdeer. Ad. — Forehead, a 

 spot behind tlie eye, throat, and a ring around the neck, a band on the breast, 

 lower breast, and belly white ; front of the crown, lores, a ring around the 

 neck, and a band on the breast black ; crown and back grayish brown tipped 

 with rufous ; rump and upper tail-coverts rufous ; inner tail-feathers grayish 

 brown, outer ones becoming rufous and white, all tipped with black and white. 

 L., 10-50; W., 6-50; Tar., 1-35; B., -75. 



Range.— l^iorth. America north to Newfoundland and Manitoba, breeding 

 throughout its range; winters from the lower Mississippi Valley and Vir- 

 ginia to northern South America. 



