476 



PLOVER GROUP. 



dotterels, and lapwings. While agreeing with the pratincoles and coursers in having 

 the third and fourth toes connected by a web at the base, these short-billed birds 

 of the subfamily Charadriince differ in that the nostrils are situated in a groove 

 extending considerably in advance of the basal fourth of the beak. 



The Ringed The plovers of the genus JEgialitis and the two following genera 



Plovers. may be distinguished from all other forms by the peculiar shape of 

 the beak, coupled with the circumstance that in the sharply-pointed wings the first 

 quill is the longest. As regards the beak, this, after tapering regularly for about 

 half its length, swells out suddenly both above and below near the tip. In this 

 character these birds resemble the lapwings, from which they are distinguished, not 

 only by a difference in the relative lengths of the quills of the wings, but likewise 

 by the circumstance that the two central tail-feathers are of a uniform brown colour 



for more than two -thirds their 

 length, without any white at their 

 base, and also by the metatarsus 

 being reticulated. Of plovers in 

 general, Mr. Seebohm writes that 

 they inhabit almost every descrip- 

 tion of country, " from the bare 

 mountain tops to the richly culti- 

 vated lands, the open moors and 

 commons, and the seashore. During 

 the breeding-season they are more 

 or less sociable, and in winter often 

 congregate in large flocks. They 

 run and walk with ease, and their 

 flight is powerful, moderately quick, 

 and well sustained. Their usual 

 note is a loud and shrill whistle, 



often considerably modulated, during the pairing-season, into a not unmusical trill, 

 uttered as the bird takes a short flight in the air, after the manner of the pipits." 

 All feed on insects, worms, molluscs, etc., and they nest either in some depression 

 on the ground, or on shingle or sand ; while their eggs, like those of lapwings, are 

 generally four in number and of the well-known pear shape, with a ground-colour 

 of some shade of buff, upon which are brownish black blotches and streaks and 

 underlying markings of grey. The ringed plovers derive their name from the 

 dark ring or gorget round the neck of the majority of the species, a white 

 ring being also generally present above the dark one; but in one species this 

 only forms a collar on the back of the neck, and in another both are wanting. 

 Obviously, therefore, this dark ring (which is black in the breeding-dress of the 

 males) will not serve to characterise the genus. According to Mr. Seebohm, the 

 group may be best defined by the absence of the first toe, the dark transverse band 

 near the end of the tail-feathers, and the white abdomen and axillaries ; the two 

 latter features serving to distinguish them from the three-toed dotterels, which also 

 have a dark band across the tail. The beak is always much shorter than the head, 

 and generally pale-coloured at the base ; while the legs and feet are invariably of 



COMMON RINGED PLOVER. 



