GRALL2E — CHARADRIDiE — CHARADRIUS. 209 



Description. Bill moderate, depressed near the base ; nasal groove nearly half the length 

 of the bill. Tarsus with hexagonal scales. Middle toe longest ; the web includes two joints 

 of the outer and one of the inner toe : the first quill longest. 



Color. A narrow white stripe in front of the head above the frontlet, and broadly margined 

 above with black. Color of the frontlet continued beneath the eyes, and on the ear-feathers. 

 The black collar over the base of the neck dilates on the sides, and becomes contracted be- 

 hind. Upper part of the head and back dull olive ; beneath white. Quills dark brown ; the 

 shafts white above for about a third of their length : secondary coverts broadly tipped with 

 white. Tail brown, darker towards the end, and tipped with white ; the outer feathers white 

 nearly through their entire length. Legs dusky orange or flesh-color. Female : band on the 

 head, and ring on the neck, brown. Young : wing-coverts and scapulars edged with dusky 

 white. 



Length, 7 • - 8 • 0. Alar extent, 14*0. 



The Ring Plover, or Ring-neck as it is commonly called in this State, arrives here about 

 the beginning of May, and, after a sojourn of a few weeks, continues on its way to the north 

 to breed. It breeds in Labrador, and is found as far as 70° north latitude. It lays four dull 

 yellowish eggs with irregular spots and blotches of brown. It feeds on seeds, but chiefly on 

 the smaller aquatic animals, and in the autumn is considered a delicate article of food. They 

 usually reappear along our coast in August ; and in October and November, they return to 

 the south as far as the 24th parallel. It is a constant resident from Carolina southwardly 

 during the winter. It has for a long time been confounded with the C. hiaticula of Europe, 

 with which it is nearly allied. 



[Fauna — Part 2. j 27 



