1 68 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



Spain, and the Mediterranean countries it is found in suitable 

 localities, both inland and near the sea-shore ; and it extends 

 eastwards through Central Asia to China and Japan. It winters 

 in Africa, India, and the Malayan countries as far as Australia. 

 Some of the African and Indian birds are smaller than our 

 ordinary Kentish Sand-Plover, and have been separated by Mr. 

 Seebohm as sE. minutus. The Chinese form of this Sand-Plover 

 is usually found to have pale legs, and have been described as a 

 distinct species, ^E. dealbatus, but after careful study of both 

 of these forms, I have come to the conclusion that they cannot 

 be separated from &. alexandrina. 



Habits. Before the enclosure of the harbours at Romney and 

 Pagham, I made the acquaintance of the Kentish Sand-Plovers 

 in considerable numbers. At Pagham they were always rare, 

 and I only collected single specimens, mostly immature birds ; 

 and in this part of Sussex I never found it breeding. In the 

 neighbourhood of Romney, however, and along the Lydd beach 

 to Dungeness, and thence to Rye, I have often met with the 

 species, and a certain number still breed in this district, though 

 their numbers have been decreased by the zeal of collectors ; 

 and the artillery practice, now indulged in, must have disturbed 

 them and the Stone-Curlews not a little. 



In the spring and summer the birds keep in pairs, and are 

 not in any sense gregarious. The generally whiter look of the 

 species easily distinguishes it from the Ringed Sand- Plover, 

 which is found on the same shingles, but is not so common as the 

 Kentish Sand- Plover. The nest is by no means easy to find, and 

 the search is rendered more difficult by the way in which the bird 

 runs away from it for some distance before taking wing. A little 

 experience, however, in watching the female bird, and the remem- 

 brance that, when first seen running, she must already be many 

 yards from the actual nest, will lead the collector to trace back- 

 wards, and a little care will end in the discovery of the eggs. The 

 male generally flies for some little distance, and perches, a con- 

 spicuous object, on some raised shingle or patch of mossy grass, 

 when he constantly utters his piping note. The female, with much 

 more apparent caution, runs crouchingly for some ten yards, 

 then stops, and again runs on in the same conspicuous manner 

 until she thinks that she has drawn the intruder far enough away 

 from the eggs or the young to ensure the safety of the latter. 



