Shore-bird Shooting 469 



the interior and occurring on both the Atlantic 

 and Pacific shores. This species is also known 

 as the ring-neck plover. 



EUROPEAN RING PLOVER 

 {/Egialitis hiaticuld) 



Adult male and female — Similar to the ring-neck plover, ^. semi- 

 palmata, but larger. The plumage differs in that the European 

 variety has a white spot behind the eye, and the dark band 

 across the chest is broader. The semipalmation reaches only 

 to the first joint. 



Downy young — Similar to ^. semipalmata, but forehead, white. 



Measure7nents — Length, 7 inches; wing, 4.75 inches; culmen, .50 

 inch ; tarsus, i inch. 



Eggs — Similar in color and shape to the American variety, and 

 measure 1.40 by 1.05 inches. 



Habitat — Breeds from western and central Europe and Turkestan, 

 north to Taimur Peninsula, Siberia, Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, 

 Iceland, Greenland, Cumberland, and possibly Sabine Island. 

 Winters on the shores of the Mediterranean and throughout 

 Africa. Has been recorded from Barbadoes, Chili, India, and 

 Australia, and is said to breed on the Red Sea. 



Included in the North American fauna on 

 account of its breeding on the American side of 

 Davis Bay. 



In the breeding season this species keeps close 

 to the beaches, as it does most of the year, using 

 for a nest a slight hollow in the sand lined with 

 small pebbles or pieces of shell, or, where the cliffs 

 skirt the shore, bare, gravelly places on the hillside. 

 A remarkable instance of the persistent brooding 

 of the ringed plover is recorded in Poynting's 



