374 CHARADRinXE ^GIALITIS 



^Egialitis pallida, SJiarpe, Cat. B. M. xxiv, pp. 284, 747 (1896). 

 Charadrius marginatus tenellus, Reichenow, Vocj. Afr. i, p. 171 (1900). 



Description. Similar to ^E. marginata but smaller, and having 

 the inner secondaries brown edged with white, none being pure 

 white. 



Iris brown ; bill black ; feet lead-coloured. 



Length 6-0 ; wing 4-0 ; tail 1-9 ; culmen O65 ; tarsus 1-0. 



This species seems hardly worthy of more than sub- specific 

 separation; birds from Port St. John, in Pondoland, and from 

 Durban are clearly intermediate in character. 



Distribution. This sub-species replaces the former one on the 

 tropical portions of the east and west coasts of Africa from Angola 

 to the Gold Coast on the west, and from the Zambesi to Lindi, and 

 perhaps to the Eed Sea on the east. Within our limits it has only 

 been definitely recorded from the Zambesi, near Chicowa, by Alex- 

 ander, and near Feira by Dr. Stoehr. 



Habits. Alexander found this bird well distributed along the 

 Zambesi, especially during the dry season, from June to December. 

 He found nests on several occasions in September and October, and 

 from observations made and recorded, believes that the eggs are 

 hatched, to great extent, by the heat of the sun, as he found that 

 during the day the eggs were always deserted by the parent bird 

 and covered over with sand. 



The following is Alexander's description of the eggs : " Ground 

 colour pale huffish-brown, minutely spotted and streaked all over 

 with reddish-brown, with faint underlying markings of a purplish 

 colour. Averae measurements 1*15 x 0-88." 



732. ^Egialitis pecuaria. Kittlitz's Sand Plover. 



Charadrius varius (nee Linn.) VieilL, N. Diet. cVHist. Nat. xxvii, 



p. 143 (1818) ; Reichenow, Vog. Afr. i, p. 171 (1900). 

 Charadrius pecuarius, Temm., PL Col, v, pi. 183 (1823) ; Grill, K. Vet. 



Akad. Handl. Stockh. ii, no. 10, p. 52 (1858) [Cape and Knysna] ; 



Seebohm, Geogr. Dist. Cliaradr. p. 158 (1888); Shelley, B. Afr. i, 



p.- 189 (1896). 



Leucopolius kittlitzi, Bp., C. P. xliii, p. 417 (1856). 

 Charadrius kittlitzi, Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 297 (1867). 

 ^Egialitis kittlitzi, Newton, Ibis, 1867, p. 251 ; Ayres, Ibis, 1869, p. 300. 

 ^Fgialitis pecuarius, Gurney, in Andersson's B. Damaral. p. 274 (1872) ; 



Harting, P. Z. 8. 1874, p. 457, pi. 60, fig. 4 [egg] ; Sharpe, Cat. 



B. M. xxiv, p. 297 (1896) ; Harris, Essays and Photos, p. 165, pis. 45, 



