PLOVERS 189 



Penobscot; used to occur here forty years ago, (1857) (Hardy). Piscata- 

 quis; rare, (Homer). Sagadahoc; very scarce in fall, (Spinney). Wash- 

 ington; accidental, (Boardman). 



Though breeding north, west and south of us this species 

 does not now breed in Maine, if indeed it ever did. It seems 

 to occur very rarely in September and October, and of late 

 years along the coast only. In the west I have often watched a 

 flock of these birds running along the shore, scattered out and 

 feeding on such insects, worms and similar material as they 

 found at or near the water's edge. Suddenly one would take 

 fright and with a "kill-deek" away they went. 



When much stirred up, especially in the breeding season, 

 they will hang around an intruder for hours keeping up a "kill- 

 deer kill- dee" either from overhead or when tired of being on 

 the wing alighting to keep up the same cry. When the danger 

 which threatened the young was unusually imminent they often 

 utter a passionate "reak-reak" as a variation of their "kill-deer" 

 which latter call is uttered in a wonderfully great variation of 

 pitches, intonations etc. so that it seems to express very different 

 degrees of emotion and excitment. 



They nest in the sand or on the ground in bottom lands along 

 some river or near some other body of water or in upland fields 

 and pastures. Four eggs from a depression in the ground in 

 a grassy field, Clark County, Virginia, June 9, 1890, measure 

 1.55 X 1.06, 1.59 X 1.06, 1.57 x 1.09, 1.54 x 1.08. The 

 ground color of eggs laid by various birds varies from drab 

 to pale clay color or light buff, heavily spotted and blotched 

 with umber, chocolate and blackish brown, the spots often 

 being confluent and usually most numerous at the larger end. 



The downy young are cunning little things, being fluffy balls 

 of down, grayish brown above with white collar and black 

 areas surrounding the grayish brown; below they are white 

 except for a black collar and band on chest, this being only a 

 general description. Let those who wish a better one attempt to 

 make notes after they have caught a young bird and are trying 



