108 PLOVERS. 



have become comparatively rare. Of the one hundred 

 known species, six visit eastern I^orth America — the 

 Black-breasted, Golden, Piping, Wilson's, Semipalmated, 

 and Killdeer Plovers. Only the last two of these are 

 common enough to deserve mention here. 



Killdeer '^^^^ Killdeer, with the exception of 



^Sgiaiitis vocifcra. the Piping Plover, is the only bird of 



Plate XI. ^i^ig family that nests wath us. It is 



irregularly distributed in the northeastern States, but its 

 noisy call, Mldee^ Mldee, and striking markings render it 

 a conspicuous bird even where it is uncommon. It fre- 

 quents uplands and lowlands, fields and shores, but prefers 

 the vicinity of water. Its nest of grasses is made on the 

 ground, and its four eggs are whitish, s])otted and scrawled 

 wdtli chestnut, chiefly at the larger end. 



The Semipalmated or Ring-necked Plover looks like 

 a miniature of the Killdeer, but, in addition to other dif- 



„ . , ^ , „, ferences, has only one band on the 



Semipalmated Plover, ' -^ 



^Egiaiitis breast. The male has the upper parts 



semipaimata. brownish gray, the under parts, nape, 

 and forehead white, while the breast- 

 band, crown, and cheeks are black. In the female these 

 black areas are brownish gray. This Plover visits our 

 shores and beaches during its northward migration in 

 May and southward migration in August and September. 

 Thanks to its small size, it is not hunted as game, and 

 for this reason is almost as common as the little Peeps 

 or Ox-eyes, with which it often associates. Its call is a 

 simple but exceedingly sweet and plaintive two-noted 

 whistle. 



