164 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. 



mottled with black, and finally become totally black. The 

 spots of orange, or golden, on the crown, hind-head and back, 

 are at first white, and sometimes even the breast itself is mark- 

 ed with these spots, mingled among the black. In every stage, 

 the seemingly disproportionate size of the head, and thickness 

 of the bill, will distinguish this species. 



Note. Mr. Ord furnishes the following additional information 

 respecting this species in his reprint of the seventh volume of 

 Wilson. 



An adult male, shot the 26th April, near Philadelphia, mea- 

 sured eleven inches in length; space between the eye and bill, 

 and cheeks, black; throat, and thence down the breast and bel- 

 ly, as far as the thighs, black, with white intermixed ; front 

 pure white, which extends in a narrow line over the eyes, bor- 

 dering the black of the neck, as far as the breast; crown, and 

 thence down the back part of the neck, brown and white; up- 

 per parts, with wing-coverts, banded with white and black, 

 with some ashy brown feathers interspersed, the whole present- 

 ing an irregularly spotted appearance the back, scapulars and 

 tertials with greenish reflections; lower part of abdomen, thighs, 

 vent, lining of the wings, and under tail-coverts, pure white, 

 the exterior vanes of the last spotted with brown black; sides 

 under the wings very pale ash, with faint ashy brown bars; up- 

 per tail-coverts white, with narrow ashy brown bars, which in- 

 crease in size, and become darker, up the rump; the upper part 

 of the inner webs of the primaries white; bill, legs and feet, of 

 a shining black; no golden or orange coloured spots. The parts 

 not mentioned agreeing with those of the foregoing. 



Another adult male, shot at Egg-Harbour, on the 10th of May, 

 was twelve inches in length, and had its cheeks, lores, throat, 

 middle of the breast and belly, as far as the thighs, black; the 

 long feathers of the sides, at the junction of the wings, also 

 black; feathers of the crown ash, centred with black, and tipt 

 with white; back brownish black, plumage broadly tipt with 

 white; wing-coverts brown ash and black, broadly spotted and 







