BIRDS MET WITH BY THE WILDFOWLER 333 
species, which they closely resemble, by being smaller and in 
having the axillaries smoke-grey instead of white. Length 
about gin. ; wing 6°75 in. 
GREY PLOVER 
Charadrius helveticus (Brisson) 
In general appearance this bird resembles the Golden 
Plover, but white takes the place of the yellow spots, and the 
_ hind toe is lacking. He is a common spring and autumn 
migrant to the British Isles; he passes the winter in the warm 
tropics of Africa, wandering southwards as far as the Cape, 
and then, obeying some mysterious impulse of which we can 
form no conception, he journeys in May northwards, and pass- 
ing over many spots which would to our ignorant eyes afford 
him food and shelter sufficient for the rearing of his young, 
he seeks out the wild and lonely tundras of Europe and Siberia. 
There during the eternal day of an Arctic summer he rears 
his family, and as soon as they can fly, old and young are back 
again on our shores. For some weeks they remain, slowly 
passing to the south, and, unlike the Golden Plover, rarely 
coming inland ; but by the middle of October they are all back 
enjoying once more the burning sun of the tropics. 
The white tail-coverts and absence of the hind toe, as well as 
the black axillaries, will prevent any confusion between this 
species and the Golden Plover. Length 11°5in. ; wing 7°75 in. 
AVOCET 
Recurvzrostra avocetta (Linneus) 
The Avocet is a rare spring and autumn migrant to the 
British Isles, and inhabits the southern Palearctic region and 
Ethiopian region. The adult has the cheeks and neck and rest 
of plumage white, with the exception of the head, nape, most 
part of hind neck, outer scapulars, middle wing-coverts, and 
primaries, which are black; irides chestnut-brown; bill 
