532 



of 



On all the upper parts of the plumage the 

 feathers are indented on the edge with 

 bright yellow spots upon a dark brown 

 ground ; the front of the neck and the breast 

 are the same, but much paler ; the belly is 

 almost white ; the quills are dusky ; the tail 

 is marked with dusky and yellow indentings 

 and bars ; the legs are black ; and the bill is 

 dusky. The Golden Plover is common in 

 this country and all the northern parts of 

 Europe ; it is also very numerous iu various 

 parts of America, migrating from one place 

 to another according to the seasons. It 

 breeds on high and heathy mountains ; and 

 the female lays four eggs of a pale olive 

 colour, variegated with irregular umber- 

 brown blotches. The young, when excluded, 

 are covered with a beautiful particoloured 

 down of bright yellow and brown ; they quit 

 the nest as soon as hatched, and follow their 

 parents till able to supply and support them- 

 selves, 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 at- 

 tention of the enemy. When aware of an 

 intruder near, the female invariably runs to 

 some distance from her nest before she takes 

 conceal its 



true 



ng, a manoeuvre tending to 

 e situation ; and the discov 



very of it is 

 rendered still more difficult by the colour 

 and markings of the eggs assimilating so 

 closely to that of the ground and surround- 

 ing 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 breed- 

 ing season a more varied call is used, during 

 which it flies at a great elevation, and con- 

 tinues soaring round for a considerable time. 

 Towards the end of August the Plover leaves 

 the moors, and descending to the cultivated 

 vales, gets fat by picking up the larvae and 

 worms in the newly-sown wheat fields ; 

 but as the winter draws on it moves to the 

 coast, where it remains until the approach 

 of spring. In autumn the flesh of the Plover 

 is scarcely inferior to the woodcock ; but it 

 was more esteemed formerly than at present. 

 The " Plover's eggs " frequently seen at the 

 tables of the opulent and luxurious, are not 

 those of the Golden Plover, but of the Lap- 

 wing. Plovers fly in small flocks, and make 

 a shrill whistling noise, by an imitation of 

 which they are sometimes enticed within 

 gun-shot. When merely wounded they run 

 so fast that they often escape. While tend- 

 ing the brood, the old birds employ a number 

 of stratagems to divert the attention of any 

 one approaching them. Like the Lapwing, 

 they feign lameness, tumble over as if unable 

 to fly ; and then, after running for some 

 distance, they take wing and perform many 

 gyrations in the air before they again alight. 

 Scarcely any difference is observable be- 

 tween the male and the female. In young 

 birds the plumage inclines more to gray, and 

 the yellow spots are not very distinguish- 



There are several other species of Plovers, 

 some of which are peculiar to America, and 

 others common to both continents. [See 

 DOTTEREL ; LAPWING, &c.] 



PLUME [MOTHS]. A name given by 

 collectors to different species of Moths, of the 

 genus Alucita. 



PLUSIA. [See MOTH : GASIMA MOTH.] 



PLYCTOLOPITUS. A genus of birds 

 belonging to the Psittacidce. 



The LEADBEATEU'S COCKATOO. (Plyc- 

 tolophits or Cacatua Leadbc. uteri.) Of all 

 the Cockatoos yet discovered, this species is 

 at once the most beautiful and elegant of 

 the genus. Its general plumage is white ; 

 the forehead, front and sides of the neck, 

 centre of the under surface of the wing, 

 middle of the abdomen, and the basal por- 

 tion of the inner webs of the tail-feathers 

 tinged witli rose colour, becoming of a rich 

 salmon-colour under the wing ; feathers of 

 the occipital crest crimson at the base, with 

 a yellow spot in the centre and white at 

 the tip; bill light horn -colour; feet dark 

 brown. It enjoys a wide range over the 

 southern portion of the Australian conti- 

 nent ; it never approaches very near tne 

 sea, but evinces a decided preference for 

 the belts of lofty gums and scrubs clothing 

 the sides of the rivers of the interior of the 

 country. Few birds tend more to enliven the 

 monotonous hues of the Australian forests 

 than this beautiful species, whose " pink- 

 coloured wings and glowing crest," says Sir 

 T. Mitchell, "might have embellished the 

 air of a more voluptuous region." Two 

 examples, in the possession of the Earl of 

 Derby, appear to bear confinement equally 

 as well as any of their congeners : in their 

 disposition they are not so sprightly and 

 animated, but they are less noisy. (GouWs 

 Birds of Australia.) 



PNEUMORA. A genus of Orthopterous 

 insects, remarkable for the blown-up appear- 

 ance of their abdomen, which seems to re- 

 semble an inflated balloon. The Dutch at 

 the Cape of Good Hope, where some of the 

 species are common, call them Bios op, from 



\ 



their swollen appearance. The noise they 

 make is very great. The species are of 

 delicate green or rose tints, some of them 

 spotted with silver. 



PODARGTJS. A genus of insectivorous 

 birds, natives of Australia, whose habits are 

 strictly nocturnal. During the day the Po- 



