THE PLOVER, 353 



where it joins the white, is stained with raw terra sienna ; all 

 the plumage is darkest in the centre ; the tertials are fully 

 longer than the primaries, the latter brownish black, the shafts 

 and edges of some of the middle ones white ; the legs are of 

 a pale flesh color ; toes bordered with a narrow edge ; claws 

 and ends of the toes black ; the tail is even, a very little 

 longer than the wings, and of a blackish olive color, with the 

 exception of the two exterior feathers, which are whitish, but 

 generally only the two middle ones are seen. 



The female differs in having no black on the forehead, lores, 

 or breast, these parts being pale olive. 



The Kildeer Plover (C. Vociferus\ a restless and noisy 

 bird, is known to almost every inhabitant of the United States, 

 being a common and pretty resident. During the severity of 

 winter, when snow covers the ground, it retreats to the sea- 

 shore, where it is found at all seasons ; but no sooner have 

 the rivers broke up, than its shrill note is again heard, either 

 roaming about high in air, tracing the shore of the river, or 

 running amidst the watery flats and meadows. As spring 

 advances, it resorts to the newly ploughed fields, or level plains 

 bare of grass, interspersed with shallow pools ; or, in the vicinity 

 of the sea, dry bare sandy fields. In some such situation it 

 generally chooses to breed, about the beginning of May. The 

 nest is usually slight, a mere hollow, with such materials 

 drawn in around it as happen to be near, such as bits of sticks, 

 straw, pebbles, or earth. In one instance, I found the nest of 

 this bird paved with fragments of clam and oyster shells, and 

 very neatly surrounded with a mound or border of the same, 

 placed in a very close and curious manner. In some cases 

 there is no vestige whatever of a nest. The eggs are usually 

 four, of a rich cream, or yellowish clay color, thickly marked 

 with blotches of black. They are large for the size of the bird, 

 measuring more than an inch and a half in length, and a full 

 inch in width, tapering to a narrow point at the great end. 



Nothing can exceed the alarm and anxiety of these birds 

 during the breeding season. Their cries of kildeer, Jdldeer, 

 as they winnow the air over head, dive and course around you, 



