CHARADRI AD^E. 201 



indeed of its breeding habits we are not prepared to give any 

 positive information; although we should suppose, from 

 description, that the eggs much resembled those of the 

 common Lapwing. "The plumage of this species under- 

 goes a similar change to that of the Golden Plover ; and 

 indeed so much do the two birds resemble each other, that 

 were it not for the presence of a minute hind-toe in the 

 Grey Plover, and for the long black feathers which are 

 found underneath the wings, near the body, one might be 

 easily mistaken for the other." 



THE GOLDEN PLOVER. Squatarola pluvialis. This is 

 an abundant species in Great Britain and Ireland, frequent- 

 ing our shores in winter, and retiring in spring to the 

 moorlands and wastes on which they breed ; and from thence 

 again gradually returning to the shores with the broods of 

 the year. The nest is scarcely more than a scratched hol- 

 low, very few grasses or lining materials being employed. 

 The eggs are four in number, thicker in their form at the 

 larger end than those of the common Lapwing, as well as 

 clearer and brighter in their ground-colour, and more dis- 

 tinctly marked with brown, otherwise bearing a general 

 resemblance to them. 



THE DOTTEREL. Charadrius morinellus. Upon some of 



