THE PLOVERS 



[ORDER : Charadriiformes. STTBORDER : LimicolcB. FAMILY : Charadriidce. 



SUBFAMILY: Charadriince] 



PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[W. FARREN. F. C. R. JOTJRDAIN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON] 



DOTTEREL \Eudr6mias morinellus (Linnaeus). Land-dotterel (Kent) ; 

 dotterel-plover (S. Scotland). French, pluvier guignard; German, Mornell- 

 Eegenpfeifer ; Italian, piviere tortolino}. 



i. Description. The dotterel, when adult, is easily distinguished by the 

 broad white prepectoral band, and the large patches of chestnut and black on the 

 breast. The sexes are alike, and there is a marked seasonal change of plumage. 

 (PI. 116.) Length 9 in. [228*60 mm.]. The crown is black indistinctly streaked with 

 brown ; above each eye is a broad band of white which extends backwards on to 

 the nape, meeting its fellow of the opposite side ; the hind-neck and mantle are of 

 a brownish ash-grey, relieved on the interscapulars by more or less conspicuous 

 marginal loops : the hinder scapulars, wing-coverts, and long inner secondaries 

 have similar rust-coloured margins. The inner primaries are of a light slate-grey, 

 the outer dark slate fading into black towards the tip, and the outermost primary 

 has a conspicuous white shaft. The tail is brownish ash broadly tipped with white, 

 except the central pair, which have pale, narrow, buff margins. The sides of the 

 face and throat are white. On the fore-neck the feathers are greyish ash margined 

 with buff, the prepectoral region is marked by a broad double band of white, bounded 

 in front by a narrow band of black ; occasionally there is a black band on either side 

 of the white crescent. The fore-breast and flanks are chestnut ; the mid-breast 

 is of a rich brownish black, while the abdomen and under tail-coverts are white. 

 After the autumn moult the black and white crescent, and the black and red patches 

 on the breast, are wanting, the under parts being white. The juvenile plumage 



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