332 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 



quietly leaves her eggs and, flying low, circles round till we 

 see her apparently coming up from a direction diametrically 

 opposed to that in which her treasures lie. It will be hopeless 

 for us to lie in wait for her return to the nest, unless we are 

 completely concealed, for the male will keep a close eye upon 

 us, and until he is quiet she will not return. When the young 

 are hatched both birds meet and follow us, while in response 

 to the warning the young squat close to the ground, under 

 cover of some piece of heather, and so escape detection. In 

 autumn these birds collect in large flocks, and though many 

 remain on the moors all the year round, the majority come to 

 the marshes near the sea and gradually pass southwards. 



The sexes are alike in plumage, but the female generally 

 shows less black underneath. The whole of the upper parts 

 are dark brown, with two or more yellow spots on the margins 

 of each feather. The throat and breast are black, bordered by 

 a clear-cut white line. Bill and legs black. In winter the black 

 on the throat and chest is replaced by white, with pale brownish 

 mottlings across the latter. Length about lo in. ; wing 7*5 in. 



The young in first plumage have the breast suffused with 

 yellowish, and flanks profusely mottled with brown. It is 

 generally distributed throughout these islands, breeding com- 

 monly on the moorlands, and becoming much more numerous 

 in Scotland. 



LESSER GOLDEN PLOVER 

 Charadrius dominicus [P. L. S. Miiller) 



This species is subdivided into two forms, one of which is 

 found in Eastern Asia, while the other is an inhabitant of 

 North America. 



Examples of both these forms have been shot in the 

 United Kingdom, although the American form, as might be 

 expected, has occurred the more frequently of the two. 



Both these forms may be distinguished from our common 



