THE GOLDEN PLOVERS. 147 



or even on the moors, where, if alarmed, they rise in the air, 

 and wheel and turn in a peculiarly graceful manner. These 

 flocks soon disperse, and scatter themselves in pairs over the 

 moors for the purposes of breeding. The flight of the Golden 

 Plover is powerful and well sustained; it is not so erratic as 

 that of the Peewit, and is performed with moderately quick 

 beatings of the wings. When on migration, or when passing 

 from place to place, as is oft their wont in winter, the flock 

 generally takes the shape of a wedge." 



Nest. Placed in a tuft of grass or in a depression in the 

 ground, and made of dry grass with a little heather and moss. 



Eggs. Four in number, varying considerably in colour, from 

 rich clay-brown to light stone-grey, mottled all over with 

 blotches of black, the underlying spots and blotches being 

 reddish-brown. As a rule, the dark blotches are congregated 

 towards the larger end of the egg, and the smaller end has the 

 smaller spots, and occasionally many tiny dots. Axis, 1-85-2*1 

 inches; diam., 1-35-1-45. 



II. THE LESSER GOLDEN PLOVER. CHARADRIUS DOM1NICUS. 



Charadrius dominiais, P. I,. S. Miiller, Syst. Nat. Anhang. p. 



116 (1766); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxiv. p. 195. 

 Charadrius fulvus, Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 443, pis. 516, 517, 



figs. 2, 3 (1871); B. O. U. List Brit. B. p. 157 (1883); 



Saunders, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. iii. p. 276 (1883) ; Seebohm, 



Brit. B. iii. p. 40 (1885); Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 533 



(1889). 



Adult Male. Similar to C. pluvialis, but much smaller, with 

 more slender legs and feet, and distinguished at once by its 

 smoke-brown axillaries ; bill dark olive ; feet leaden-grey ; iris 

 dark brown. Total length, 9 inches ; culmen, 0-95 ; wing, 6*6 ; 

 tail, 2-4; tarsus, 1-65. 



Adult Female. Similar to that of C. pluvialis, but distin- 

 guished by the smoke-brown axillaries. Total length, 9 inches ; 

 wing, 6-25. 



The young birds and the winter plumage of the adults 

 exactly correspond with the changes of the Golden Plover, but 

 the colour of the axillaries always distinguishes the two species. 



L 2 



