OP THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 141 



Family CHARADRIID^. Genus OCHTHODBOMDS. 



Subfamily CHARADRIIN&,. 



CASPIAN PLOVER. 



OCHTHODROMUS ASIATICUS 

 PLATE XX. 



Charadrius asiaticus, Pallas, Eeis. Euss. Eeichs. ii. p. 715 (1773). ; Seebohm, Col. 

 Fig. Eggs Brit. B. p. 122 (1896). 



/Egialitis asiatica (Pall.), Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 479, pis. 520, fig. 1, 522 (1878) ; 

 Butler, Ibis, 1890, p. 463 ; Southwell, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 461 ; Lilford, Col. 

 Pig. Brit. B. pt. xxi. (1892). 



/4Egialophilus asiaticus (Pall.), Dixon, Nests and Eggs Non-indig. Brit. B. p. 231 



(1894). 



Ochthodromus asiaticus (Pall.), Sharpe, Handb. B. Gt. Brit. iii. p. 150 (1896) ; 

 Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxiv. p. 230 (1896). 



Geographical distribution. British : At a meeting of the Zoological 

 Society on June 17th, 1890, the secretary, Dr. P. L. Sclater, exhibited on behalf 

 of Mr. T. Southwell a mounted specimen of the Caspian Plover, the first and 

 only example known to have been killed in the British Islands. Mr. Southwell's 

 communication was as follows : " On the evening of the 23rd May I received 

 from Mr. Lowne, of Yarmouth, the fresh skin of a handsome full-plumaged male 

 of MgiaUtii asiatica, sent me for identification. Subsequently I learned the 

 following particulars with regard to this interesting occurrence. During the 

 morning of the 23rd of May two strange birds were seen in a large market 

 garden bordering on the North Denes, at Yarmouth, which attracted the atten- 

 tion of the occupier of the gardens, but he had no opportunity of a shot till 

 about 5.30 p.m., when they were on the golf ground which forms a portion of 

 the Denes. He tried to get both birds in a line for a double shot ; that being 

 unsuccessful he selected the brighter of the two, its companion being at the time 

 about six yards distant from it. When he fired, the paler bird, presumably the 

 female, flew off in a westerly direction and was no more seen. Very shortly 

 after the bird was purchased of the shooter by Mr. H. C. Knights, by whom it 

 was taken the next morning to Mr. Lowne for preservation, who, .as before 

 stated, forwarded the skin to me for identification. The weather at the time was 

 very warm, and Mr. Lowne, seeing that it was a valuable bird, would not risk 

 sending it to me in the flesh ; hence it was that I saw only the skin, but I may 

 mention that it had all the appearance of having been very recently removed, and 



