260 CHARADRIID^E. 



late Arctic Expedition, Major Feilden obtained a female which 

 had apparently been nesting in lat. 78 48' N. in Buchanan 

 Strait, Smith Sound ; but birds from other and more western 

 localities in Arctic America have either been proved, or may 

 fairly be supposed to be, examples of an allied species, 

 M. semipalmata. The latter is smaller than our bird, and 

 has no white patch above and behind the eye : the pectoral 

 band is narrower, and the middle and outer toes are united 

 at their base by a very distinct web. Tracing the arctic 

 range of the Ringed Plover eastward, the species is found in 

 summer along the whole northern line of the Old World 

 from the North Cape, and Novaya Zemlya, to the winter 

 quarters of the " Vega," close to Behring's Straits. 



Throughout Europe the Ringed Plover is generally dis- 

 tributed in suitable localities, becoming rarer in the interior 

 of compact countries like Russia, and more abundant in 

 those which present a varied coast line, or large rivers. In 

 the northern regions it is a migrant, but in the temperate 

 portions it is resident, and some of the largest individuals 

 are to be found amongst those which permanently inhabit 

 the British Islands, and the opposite coasts of France and 

 Holland. In the southern portions of Europe the smaller 

 race predominates, and to this, in all probability, belong the 

 birds which are found in Madeira, the Canaries, and 

 northern Africa, and which range in winter to the southern 

 extremity of that continent. In Egypt, Captain Shelley 

 obtained none but the smaller individuals, but it is tolerably 

 certain that some of the larger race also go as far as the Red 

 Sea. In Turkestan it is said to breed; but in China it 

 appears to be replaced by M. placida, Gray, which has also 

 occurred in India, and has been recorded in error as our 

 bird. A single specimen of the Ringed Plover was, however, 

 obtained by Dr. Scully at Gilgit, and one been recorded by 

 Mr. Hume from Sultanpur, about thirty miles south of Delhi. 

 (Str. Feath. viii. p. 197.) The late Mr. Gould has stated that 

 he possessed an undoubted specimen from Port Stevens, in 

 Australia. 



The male in summer has the beak black at the point, 



