48 PLUVIALINjE. PLUVIALIS. 



tuse. Plumage ordinary, close, rather blended ; feathers 

 oblong ; wings long and pointed, of twenty-five quills ; the 

 primaries tapering, the first longest, the inner secondaries 

 much elongated ; tail straight, nearly even, of twelve fea- 

 thers. 



The species of this genus are very widely distributed, and 

 one is common to both continents. They form large flocks 

 after the breeding season, and generally betake themselves 

 in cold weather to the shores of the sea. Their food consists 

 of insects, worms, mollusca, and small Crustacea. They run 

 with celerity, have a rapid flight, and emit a loud shrill 

 whistle. The nest is a slight hollow in the ground, the eggs 

 always four, pyriform, extremely large, and spotted. One 

 species is very common in Britain, another breeds there in 

 small numbers, and a third is a winter visitant. 



167. PLUVIALIS SQUATAROLA. GREY PLOVER. 



Bill rather stout, nearly as long as the head ; a very dimi- 

 nutive hind toe. In winter, the upper parts blackish-grey, 

 spotted with white ; the cheeks, neck, breast, and sides grey- 

 ish-white, streaked with greyish-brown ; the axillar feathers 

 greyish-black. In summer, the upper parts black, spotted 

 with white ; the forehead, a line over the eye, the abdomen, 

 and legs, white. Young dusky-grey above, spotted with white 

 and yellow, greyish-white beneath, the fore-neck and sides 

 streaked with brownish-grey. 



Male, 12, 25, 7 A, IjV* Ii 2 5 , yV Female, 11^, 23|. 



The Grey Plover, which is pretty generally distributed 

 over the continent of Europe, and is plentiful in some parts 

 of North America, seems to be with us merely an annual 

 visitant, appearing in small flocks in autumn and spring, 

 chiefly along the coast, where it frequents the muddy and 

 sandy beaches, which it searches for worms, insects, and small 

 marine animals. It breeds in the northern countries, placing 

 a few blades of grass in a slight hollow, and laying four light 

 greenish-yellow pyriform eggs, blotched and dotted with 

 brown and pale purple. 



Black-bellied Plover. Grey Sandpiper. Squatarola. 



Tringa Squatarola and Helvetica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 250, 

 252. Tringa Squatarola and Helvetica, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 

 ii. 718, 729. Vanellus melanogaster, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 

 ii. 547. Pluvialis Squatarola, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, iv. 



