943 



CHARADRIAD.E. 



CHARADRIAD^E. 



brown, more or less deep or umber-colour ; two lateral feathers of the 

 tail terminated with white. Length 10 to 11 inches. 



This is Le Pluvier a Aigrette, Le Pluvier Hupp de Perse, and the 

 Pluvier Arme" du Senegal, of Buffon ; Spur- Winged and Black-Breasted 

 Indian Plover of Latham. 



Little or nothing is known of the habits of this species, with the 

 exception of what we learn from Dr. Latham, who says that it inhabits 

 Russia, and is frequent near Aleppo, about the river Coie. " The Spur- 

 Winged Plovers," says he, "are very numerous and exceedingly noisy, 

 have a hasty and continual movement of the head and neck, drawing 

 them up briskly, and then stretching them quickly forward, almost as 

 if they were making hasty and eager bows." 



M. Temminck gives Egypt and Senegal as the habitat of this bird, 

 and says that it shows itself accidentally in Italy, but is said to be 

 more common in the islands of the Grecian Archipelago. In Greece, 

 he adds, great numbers are found ; and Professor Nordmann killed 

 one in Russia. 



Charadriui (Linn.). Bill slender, straight, compressed, shorter 

 than the head ; nasal furrow prolonged more than two-thirds ; man- 

 dibles enlarged towards the tip. Nostrils basal, jagged, cleft longi- 

 tudinally in the middle of a large membrane which covers the nasal 

 fossa. Toes three, directed forwards, the external united to the 

 middle one by a short membrane ; the inner toe free. Tail square 

 or slightly rounded. Wings moderate, first quill-feather longest. 

 (Gould.) 



Head and foot of Golden Plorer (C/iaradrim ptmialii). 



C. pluviali* (Linn.), the Golden Plover. The old male in winter 

 plumage has the top of the head, as well as all the upper parts of 

 the body, wings, and tail, sooty black, marked with large spots of 

 golden yellow, disposed on the borders of the barbs of the feathers ; 

 sides of the head, neck, and breast varied with ashy brown and 

 yellowish spots ; throat and lower parts white ; quills black, shafts 

 white towards the end ; bill blackish ; feet deep ash-colour ; iris 

 brown. Length rather more than 10 inches. 



The young of the year have the upper parts ashy black with spots 

 of yellowish ash. (Temm.) 



In this garb the birds are, according to Temminck, C. pluvialis, 

 Gmel. ; 0. (turatug, Suckow ; Le Pluvier Don?, Buff. ; Goldeu or Green 

 Pli pvur. Lath ; Goldregenpfeifer, Bechst. ; Piviere Dorato, of the ' Stor. 

 degl. Ucc.' ; Goud Plevier, Sepp. 



The old male and female in summer or nuptial plumage have the 

 upper parts deep black ; over all the borders of the feathers are dis- 

 posed small spots of a very bright golden yellow ; front and space 

 above the eyes pure white ; lateral parts of the neck white also, but 

 raried with great black and yellow spots ; throat, front of the neck, 

 and all the other lower parts, deep black. 



White and black mingled are often seen on the lower parts of the 

 feathers during the moult. This livery is always to be seen on the 

 young birds, even after then- first spring moult. (Temm.) 



In this state the bird is, according to M. Temminck, C.aprirariw, 

 Gmel. i Le Pluvier Dor^ a Gorge Noire, Buff. ; Alwargrim Plover, 

 Lath. 



In the fourth part of his ' Manuel,' M. Temminck adds the following 

 synonyms : C. auratiu, Naum. ; Der Platkiipfige, Hochsternige, 

 Mittlere, und Hochkopfige Goldregenpfeifer, Brehm. ; Brockfogel, 

 Nils. ; and Ploiere, Savi. 



This species is also Le Pluvier Guillemot of Belon (who says that 

 it is named Pluvier, " pour ce qu'on le, prend mieux en temps pluvieux 

 qu'eii nulle autre saison," and be gives an amusing account of the 

 mode of taking these birds by the peasants) ; Der Rechte Brachvogel 

 of the Germans ; Hawk's Eyes of the Hudson's Bay residents (?) ; 

 Cwttyn yr aur of the ancient British. 



Mr. Selby gives a most correct and interesting account of the habits 

 of the bird in this country : " About the end of May or beginning of 

 June the females begin to lay, making but a little artificial nest, a small 

 depression 'in the ground amidst the heath being generally taken 

 advantage of, and lined with a few dry fibres and stems of grass. 

 The eggs are four hi number, rather larger than those of the lapwing, 

 of a cream-yellow inclining to oil-green, with large irregular confluent 

 blotches or spots of deep umber-brown. The young, when excluded, 

 are covered with a beautiful particoloured down of bright king's 

 yellow end brown. They quit the nest as soon as hatched, and follow 

 M till able to fly and support themselves, which is in the 



course of a month or five weeks. The old birds display great anxiety 

 in protecting their young brood, using various stratagems to divert 

 the attention of an enemy ; among others, that of tumbling over, as 

 if unable to fly, or feigning lameness, is most frequent, and appears 

 indeed to be the instinctive resort of those birds that construct the 

 nest and rear their young on the ground. When aware of an intruder 

 near, the female invariably runs to some distance from her nest before 

 she takes wing, a manoeuvre tending to conceal its true situation ; and 

 the discovery of it is rendered still more diflicult by the colour and 

 markings of the eggs assimilating so closely to that of the ground and 

 surrounding herbage. The usual call-note of the Plover is a plaintive 

 monotonous whistle, by imitating which it may frequently be enticed 

 within a very short distance. In the breeding season a more varied 

 call is used, during which it flies at a great elevation, and continues 

 soaring round for a considerable time. Towards the end of August 

 these birds begin to leave the moors (having there congregated in 

 large flocks), and descend to the fallows and the newly-sown wheat- 

 fields, where an abundance of their favourite food can be readily 

 obtained. At this season they soon become very fat, and are excellent 

 at the table, their flesh not being inferior in flavour to that of the 

 Woodcock or any of our most esteemed sorts of game. In these 

 haunts they continue till severe weather approaches, when they either 

 move nearer to the coast or migrate to the southern parts of the 

 kingdom. They fly with strength and swiftness, and if disturbed, 

 when in large flocks, generally perform many aerial evolutions and 

 rapid wheelings before they again settle on the ground. The Golden 

 Plover is a nocturnal feeder, and during the day is commonly seen 

 squatted upon the ground or standing asleep, with the head drawn 

 down between the shoulders. Its food consists of earth-worms, slugs, 

 insects, and their larvae, particularly those of the Lepidopterous tribe, 

 many rare species of which I have, upon dissection, found in their 

 stomachs and gullet during the summer season. It runs very fast, 

 and, when wounded, is difficult to be caught without the aid of 

 a dog." 



Golden Plover (Chamdritts 

 a, Summer dress ; &, Winter dress. 



This species has been always considered, and most justly, a delicious 

 dish. It figures iu the old bills of fare accordingly. Thus in the 

 account of Sir John Nevile, of Chete Knight, of the viands, &c., used 

 at the marriage of his son-in-law Roger Rockley and his daughter 

 Elizabeth Nevile, the 14th of January, iu the seventeenth year "of 



