THE PLOVER TRIBE 2247 



during the winter begin to break up into pairs; the eggs are not, however, laid till 

 April, May, or June, and have been found as late as August. When their breeding 

 grounds are visited, the birds exhibit but little anxiety, as their protective colora- 

 tion renders the eggs very difficult of detection. 



The sand plovers, as typically represented by the Kentish plover 

 {^Egialophilus cantianus) , while agreeing with the ringed plovers in 

 the absence of the first toe, and their white abdomen, are distinguished 

 by the lack of a distinct dark band near the end of the tail feathers, and also by the 

 white bases of the outer webs of the innermost primary quills, the latter feature 

 forming a white wing patch somewhat similar to that occurring in the common 

 ringed plover and its allies, although smaller. There are some twenty species of 

 sand plovers distributed over the greater part of the world, except the Arctic regions, 

 but more numerous in the Southern than the Northern Hemisphere. The Kentish 

 plover, which breeds on the shores of Kent and Sussex, as well as the coasts of the 

 seas and salt lakes of a great portion of Europe and Asia, visiting India and Africa 

 in winter, may be recognized by the white collar round the neck, the dark 

 patch on each side of the breast, the presence of a white area on the central 

 portion of the shaft of the third primary quill, and the black legs; the length 

 varying from six to seven inches. Beyond the circumstance that they are all 

 shore birds, mainly frequenting open stretches of sand, upon which the eggs 

 are laid, there is nothing calling for notice in the habits of this genus. The wry- 

 billed plover (s. frontalis) of New Zealand is unique in having the beak bent on 

 one side. 



By many ornithologists the dotterels are regarded as belonging to a 

 and genus (Eudromias) distinct from that containing the true plovers, but 



Dotterels t^ s * s not t* 16 v * ew adopted by Mr. Seebohm; and, as we are in the 

 main following his system, we will here rank them with the plovers 

 (Charadrius} . The black under parts of the dotterels appear indeed to exhibit rela- 

 tionship with some of the true plovers, this affinity being confirmed by the colora- 

 tion of the eggs and the mode of nesting in the two groups. Nevertheless, the 

 inclusion of all these forms in a single genus renders its definition a somewhat diffi- 

 cult matter. Having the general characteristics common to all the plovers, the 

 members of the present genus may be recognized, according to Mr. Seebohm, by 

 the possession of either one or two of the following features, namely, colored axil- 

 laries, the presence of the first toe, a barred tail, or a dark patch on the abdomen. 

 The beak may be rather longer than in the ringed plovers, but in both groups there 

 are twelve feathers in the tail. Whereas, however, the majority of the species 

 (about a dozen in number) agree with the two preceding genera in the absence of 

 the first toe, that digit is present in four members of the genus. The group is 

 most numerously represented during the breeding season in the Arctic region, al- 

 though some species nest in Temperate Europe and Asia, and others in Australia 

 and South America, while during the winter these birds are dispersed over the 

 greater portion of the globe. Unlike the members of the two preceding groups, the 

 true plovers and dotterels inhabit open plains, mountains, and the Siberian tundras, 

 as well as the shores of seas and lakes, and in this respect resemble their cousins, 



