214 CHARADRIID.E 



edged below by a narrow black band; lower breast and 

 abdomen, white ; back, scapulars, and wings, brown ; 

 primaries, dark brown. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar in colour to the male 

 plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Breast-band, dull 

 brown ; head, back, and wings, umber, shading to sandy- 

 buff on the forehead, cheeks, and hind-neck. 



Immature, male and female. More sandy-coloured than 

 the adult winter plumage, which it otherwise resembles; 

 feathers of the back and wings, edged with buff. 



BEAK. Blackish. 



FEET. Greenish-olive. 



IBIDES. Dusky-hazel. 



EGGS. Dull yellow, irregularly spotted with dark brown : 

 clutch, three. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 7'5 in. 



WING 5'6 



BEAK 0'8 



TARSO-METATARSUS 1'35 



EGG 1'45 X 1'02 in. 



RINGED PLOVER. Mgialitis hiaticola (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, Birds of Great Britain,' vol. iv, pi. 

 41 ; Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. vii, pi. 525 ; Lilford, 

 ' Coloured Figures,' vol. v, pi. 10. 



This pretty little Plover may be seen at all seasons of 

 the year along our coasts. Its numbers increase with the 

 arrival of migrants in spring and autumn, and though many 

 birds pass northward, a fair proportion remain to breed in 

 our Isles. 



The Ringed Plover is most adaptable to its surround- 

 ings ; its favourite resorts are sandy beaches, but it also 

 haunts rocky strands, where, in company with Turnstones, 

 it may be seen foraging among stones and sea-wrack for 

 food. 



The banks of rivers and the shores of fresh-water lakes 

 are also frequented. 



