150 RINGED PLOVER. 



The parents, however, always remain near the spot to protect 

 them from injury, and probably in cold rainy or stormy weather, 

 to shelter them with their bodies. The eggs are three, some- 

 times four, large for the bird, of a dun clay colour, and marked 

 with numerous small spots of reddish purple. 



The voice of these little birds, as they move along the sand, 

 is soft and musical, consisting of a single plaintive note occa- 

 sionally repeated. As you approach near their nests, they seem 

 to court your attention, and the moment they think you observe 

 them, they spread out their wings and tail, dragging themselves 

 along, and imitating the squeaking of young birds; if you turn 

 from them they immediately resume their proper posture until 

 they have again caught your eye, when they display the same 

 attempts at deception as before. A flat dry sandy beach, just 

 beyond the reach of the summer tides, is their favourite place 

 for breeding. 



This species is subject to great variety of change in its plu- 

 mage. In the month of July I found most of those that were 

 breeding on Summers's Beach, at the mouth of Great Egg-Har- 

 bour, such as I have here figured; but about the beginning or 

 middle of October they had become much darker above, and 

 their plumage otherwise varied. They were then collected in 

 flocks; their former theatrical and deceptive manreuvres seemed 

 all forgotten. They appeared more active than before, as well 

 as more silent; alighting within a short distance of one, and 

 feeding about without the least appearance of suspicion. At the 

 commencement of winter they all go off towards the south. 



This variety of the Ringed Plover is seven inches long, and 

 fourteen in extent; the bill is reddish yellow for half its length, 

 and black at the extremity ; the front and whole lower parts pure 

 white, except the side of the breast, which is marked with a 

 curving streak of black, another spot of black bounding the front 

 above; back and upper parts very pale brown, inclining to ashy 

 white, and intermixed with white; wings pale brown, greater 

 coverts broadly tipt with white; interior edges of the secondaries, 

 and outer edges of the primaries white, and tipt with brown; 



