20 Mackay on the Golden Plover. [January 



have been started, that is, if they have been resting or feediii 

 there any length of time. When suspicious, it is very difficult to 

 approach, decoy, or call them ; if not harassed, they are as a 

 rule quite tame and gentle, and can be easily driven up to with 

 horse and wagon. 



The young birds, or 'Palebellies' as they are called by the 

 local gunners, are inferior in size to the old black-and-white- 

 breasted birds. Their plumage is ashy gray all over, relieved 

 with spots of pale yellow on the top of the head, back, and rump, 

 they having none of the bolder and well-detined markings of the 

 old birds, in which the white line of the forehead, running over 

 and back of the eye down each side of the neck, is the most 

 prominent at a distance. These young birds invariably appear 

 wild and wary, much more so than the old ones. They are also 

 very erratic in their movements and flight when with us. They 

 usually will not pay so much attention to the decoys or call-whistle 

 as do the old birds ; and I have seen them, when verv shy and after 

 being disturbed, mount up into the air and nearly turn over on 

 their backs while flying with great velocity. It is a noteworthy 

 fact that, when a flock of these young birds is approaching, no 

 dependence can be placed on their movements. They may some- 

 times sweep down within a few yards of the sportsman, passing 

 with great rapidity over his head, all scattered ; or down close 

 to the stand and then up into the air ; or they may turn suddenly. 

 My experience has taught me not to wait, as is my custom with 

 the older birds, to get them together before shooting, but to fire 

 at them whenever and wherever I can, if they are within range- 

 The older birds rarely indulge in any similar antics. These 

 young birds seem to migrate by themselves, and at a later date 

 than the old ones, not appearing in New England, as far as my 

 experience shows, till from one week to four after the arrival of 

 the older black-and-white-breasted birds. I have notes of one 

 such landing, on the Island of Nantucket, as late as October i , 

 1882. This, however, is the latest date I have ever known. 



While I have continually shot the young birds on Nantucket, 

 and in other parts of Massachusetts, their arrival is a much more 

 uncertain event than that of the older birds, there being some 

 years when I have seen none, and others only a few. I have 

 never known a year when they were anything like as numerous 

 as I have seen the older birds. 



