( 213 ) 



CHARADRIUS MARMORATUS— WAGLER. 



AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER. 



Golden Plover, Charadrius pluvialis, Wils. Amer. Orn. 



Ciiaradriiis pluvialis, Bonap. Svn. 



Charadrius pluvialis, Golden Plover, Sw. & Rich. 



American Golden Plover, Charadrius marmoratus, Aud. Orn. Biog. 



Specific Character — Bill rather slender ; along the gap one inch 

 and an eighth, tarsi one and nine-sixteenths. Adult with the bill 

 black, much slighter than C. heloeUcus ; forehead, and a band over 

 the eye, extending behind the eye, white ; upper parts, including 

 the crown, brownish-black, the feathers marked with spots of gold- 

 en yellow and dull white ; quills and coverts dark grayish-brown; 

 secondaries paler — the inner margined with yellowish-white; tail 

 feathers grayish-brown, barred with paler ; the central with dull 

 yellov/ ; shafts of the wing quills white toward the end, which, vvnth 

 their bases, are dark brown ; lower parts brownish-black, though in 

 general we find it mottled with brovv^n, dull v>'hite, and black ; 

 lower tail coverts white, the lateral marked with black ; feet bluish- 

 gray. Late in autumn, the golden markings on the upper parts 

 are not so distinct, and the lower parts are grayish-blue. Length 

 ten inches and a half, wing seven and one-eighth. 



This bird is closely allied to the Golden Plover, [C. pluvialis,'] 

 of Europe. The latter is, however, superior in size, as well as ha- 

 ving the feathers on the sides of the body under the wings, [the 

 axillars.] white, whereas those feathers in our species are gray, and 

 in the European species which I have had an opportunity of examin- 

 ing, the golden tints appear more numerous, and of a richer color. 

 The American Golden Plover arrives on Long Island in the lat- 

 ter part of April, and soon passes on to the northern regions, where 

 it is said to breed. In the early part of September, on its return 



