246 WILD WINGS 



quiet of the summer sea and the gentle Southern zephyrs, 

 with which his plaintive and not conspicuous mellow flute- 

 note harmonizes in the pleasing and quieting andante maes- 

 toso. Superficially he is close of kin to the Semipalmated 

 Plover, our familiar " Ring-neck," and at first glance might 

 be mistaken for it. But closer acquaintance dispels the illu- 

 sion. There is less of dash and restlessness in this Southern 

 " Ring-neck," else he too might seek the arctic with his 

 cousin. Coloration, too, conforms to this impression of charac- 

 ter, in that blacks are modulated to grays. The bill, though, 

 is larger, tracing a line of special kinship with the large 

 Black-bellied Plover, or " Beetle-head." 



While the eggs of the Oyster-catcher, owing to their size, 

 are rather easy to find, it requires careful searching to find 

 those of our little plover. Singularly they are but three, 

 though the allied Ring-neck and Piping Plover lay four, - 

 another hint at his general moderation of temperament. The 

 nest-spot is merely a hollow scratched in the dry shingle 

 above the beach, usually where there are pebbles and shells, 

 sometimes, however, under a weed or low shrub. In marking 

 and coloration they blend wonderfully with their surround- 

 ings, and one must look sharp to see them. I remember well 

 finding the nest with the usual three eggs on a stretch of 

 gravelly shingle on a sandy key off the coast of South Caro- 

 lina, and having occasion to find it again to photograph it, 

 in a hurry at that, as the party were impatient to proceed on 

 the cruise, I found myself for quite a while completely baffled. 

 I should have given up, but for the exasperation at my blind- 

 ness which made me determined to find it. When my eyes, 

 at length, separated the eggs from the stones, I realized that 

 I had passed it a score of times. 



One of my prettiest experiences with my sedate little friend 

 was when cruising among the Florida Keys. We had landed 



