376 CHARADRIID^E .EGIALITIS 



a slight smoky tinge ; below white, the whole of the breast strongly 

 tinged with rusty. 



Iris very dark brown ; bill, legs and feet black. 



Length about 6'5 ; wing 4-10 ; tail 1-75 ; culmen O65 ; tarsus 

 1-15. 



The sexes are alike. A bird in non-breeding plumage has a 

 somewhat paler breast. A young bird has no. black frontal band, 

 the loreal band is brown and does not go beyond the ear- coverts, 

 the white markings on the head are rusty and sometimes almost 

 obsolete ; the chest is not sandy, but has indications of dark brown 

 shaft stripes ; there is a little white on the outer web at the base of 

 the sixth to tenth primaries. 



Distribution. Kittlitz's Sand Plover is found all over the 

 Ethiopian region from Senegambia on the west and Egypt on the 

 east, southwards to Cape Colony; it has also been obtained in 

 the Cape Verd Islands and Madagascar, while in St. Helena it is 

 replaced by a closely allied but somewhat larger bird (M. sanctce 

 Helena), the " Wire bird " of the inhabitants. Kittlitz's Sand Plover 

 is by no means confined to the coast, but is found about inland 

 waters and rivers and is a resident, so far as is known, throughout 

 its range. 



In South Africa it is widely spread and fairly common. The 

 following are the chief recorded localities : Cape Colony Berg 

 Eiver, breeding, September (Layard), Cape division, March, July, 

 October (S. A. Mus.), Knysna, May (Victorin), Port Elizabeth, 

 May (Eickard), King William's Town, April (Bt. Mus.), Deelfontein 

 (Seimund), Orange Eiver, near Aliwal, January, May (Whitehead) ; 

 Natal Lady smith, breeding (Sparrow) ; Orange Eiver Colony 

 VredefortEoad(B. Hamilton) ; Transvaal Potchefstroom, January, 

 August, October (Ayres) ; German South-west Africa Otjimbinque, 

 January, March, November (Andersson) ; Portuguese East Africa 

 Tete (Brit. Mus.). 



Habits. Kittlitz's Plover does not differ much from the White- 

 fronted Sand Plover in habits, except that it is more frequently 

 met with on inland waters, and that it is usually associated in small 

 flocks ; its note is a gentle " to whit," and it feeds on small insects 

 and water mites. In common with other Sand Plovers, it has a 

 somewhat ludicrous habit of stopping and turning round and 

 bobbing its head very frequently when observed or disturbed. It 

 breeds on the Berg Eiver in September, according to Mr. Layard, 

 and during the same month near Potchefstroom, as reported by 



