Tin: /;/.. i TA-- ///:/././/./> ri.nvvi;. ..-.: 



rli sea-shores of the middle and eastern district > ft.,m the middle of A]>ril to the \- 

 M.i\ . \\heivas in :iiitii!ini the\ range over the i- and more especially the Western 



prairies. In tin- early part <>f \ia\. t hey congregate in immense flocks, and commence their 

 journey T..uat<l more northern regions, where they are said to breed. 



I'his I'inl moves on the ground with sprightlines... When observed, it often runs with 

 nible r.i]iidity to some distance, -u.l.i.-nU M..J.> short, nods once or twice, vibrating its 

 at tin- vinii- time, mid if it should imagine itself unnoticed, it often lie* down and remairui 

 crouched until the danger i At tin- time of their dejwirtuiv from tin- north, and while 



on the sands of mud bar. <>n the sea-shore, they often raise their whip, as if to air them for u 

 few moments. While searching for food, they move in a direct manner, often look sideways 

 towanl thf proiind. ami pick up the object of their search by a peculiar bending movement of 

 the body. They are frequently observed to ]>at the moist earth with their feet, to force worms 

 from their burrows. In autumn they betake themselves to the higher grounds, where berrieM 

 as well as insects are to be met with, and where they find abundance of grasshoppers. 



\V li.-n travelling to a considerable distance, the Golden Plover flies at the height of from 

 thirty to sixty feet, in a regular manner, with considerable velocity, the flock, when large, 

 forming an extended front, and moving with regular flappings, an individual now and then 

 uttering a mellow note. Before alighting they often perform various evolutions, now descend- 

 ing and Hying swiftly over the ground, then curving upwards or sidew ise. riming and extending 

 their ranks, until the sportsman is often tired of watching them, and after all, the flock, just 

 when he expects it to alight, may suddenly shoot off and fly to a distance. When they alight 

 without shooting distance, the moment their feet touch the ground is the critical one, for they 

 are generally in a compact body, and almost immediately afterwards they disperse. I have 

 often observed them, while flying from one place to another, suddenly check their course for a 

 moment or two, as if to look at the objects below, in the manner of Curlews. 



While at New Orleans, I was invited by some French gunners to accompany them to the 

 neighborhood of Lake St. John, to witness the passage of thousands of these birds, which were 

 coming from the northeast and continuini; their course. At the first appearance of the birds 

 early in the morning, the gunners had assembled in parties of from twenty to fifty at different 

 places, where they knew from experience the Plovers would j>ass. There, stationed at nearly 

 equal distances from each other, they were sitting on the ground. When a flock approached, 

 every individual whistled in imitation of the Plover's call-note, on which the birds descended, 

 wheeled, and passing within forty or fifty yards, ran the gauntlet, as it were. Every gun 

 went off in succession, and with such effect that 1 -\-ral times saw a flock of a hundred 

 or more reduced to a miserable remnant of five or six individuals. The game was brought up 

 after each \olley by the dogs, while their masters were charging their pieces anew. This sport 

 was continued all day, and at sunset, when I left one of thes.- lines of gunners, they seemed as 

 intent on killing more as they were when I arrived. A man near the place when- I was seated 

 had killed sixty-three dozens. I calculated the number in the field at two hundred, and sup- 

 posing each to have shot twenty dozens, forty-eight thousand Golden Plovers would have 

 fallen t hat day. 



"On inquiring if these passages were of frequent occurn n< . I was told that six years 

 before, such another had occurred immediately after two or three day* of very warm weath 

 when they came up with a breeze from the northeast. Only some of the birds were fat, tin- 

 greater number of those which I examined l-ini; very lean ; scarcely any had food in their 

 rtomuch, :iM-i !!. . __> in the ovaries . .f the females were undevelo] ! The n--\t in..inin_- the 

 markets were amply supplied with Plovers at a very low price." 



According to Wilson, this bird is ten inches and a half long, and twenty-one inches in 

 extent of wing. The sexes differ but little in color. 



TIIK BI.ACK-BKI.I in IM J-VKB (Squatarola hdvetius) is an American bird. In 8epteml-r 

 it is abundant on Long Island, feeding on the great plains. It is known among the gunners 

 here as Hlack-bellied Killdeer. It is especially fond of ploughed fields, when- it .nstructs its 

 nest, a few coarse materials, slightly put together. The female frequently has two broods in 



