216 CHAKADEIID^E 



The Kinged Plover is decidedly sociable. Solitary birds 

 may be seen both on the sea-beach and on the margins 

 of inland-lakes, bat it generally keeps company with other 

 small shore-birds, such as those already mentioned. On the 

 sand-flats of the North Bull, Dublin Bay, I have seen 

 several Snow-Buntings, having foraged in the refuse cast 

 ashore by the tide, hop out to the water's edge and escort a 

 small wisp of immature Kinged Plover along the beach. 



Flight. The flight of this species is swift and power- 

 ful. When a flock is scared from its feeding-grounds at 

 the edge of the tide, the birds generally fly out to sea in a 

 body, for a short distance, and return to the strand, often 

 close to the spot from which they were disturbed. If per- 

 sistently hunted, the flocks detach themselves into smaller 

 batches, and as the birds gradually settle down, they scatter 

 themselves widely over the strand. 



Kinged Plovers often accompany Dunlins on the wing, 

 and imitate their wonderful aerial movements so accurately 

 that in a large flock the two species are practically indistin- 

 guishable. I have seen a flock, flying in from the sea, turn 

 in the air, as at a word of command, the bright breasts 

 and rapidly-beating pinions glittering like a shower of silver 

 spray in the brilliant sunshine. Approaching the water's 

 edge, the flock opened out and after a momentary pause, 

 each member speedily shot downwards with a swooping 

 action (a characteristic movement of many wading-birds), to 

 rest or feed on the sands. It was not until I turned my 

 field-glass on the birds and examined them leisurely that I 

 detected what species were in the flock. 



Occasionally a single Kinged Plover may be noted 

 coursing swiftly over the beach, its wings almost tipping 

 the foam of the breakers. Such a bird is often surprised 

 by the Merlin : along the sands of the Dublin coast I have 

 frequently witnessed a most exciting race for life. More 

 than once have I disturbed a Merlin which flew off, leaving 

 behind a half-picked Kinged Plover, and, judging from the 

 quantities of feathers and bones that one finds, it is evident 

 that this bird often falls a prey to the clutches of the swift 

 little Falcon. 



Nor can the Kinged Plover always trust the Kestrel 

 (which seldom molests small birds), when it hovers over the 

 sands searching for the downy young. 



Food. This species feeds on worms, sand-hoppers, 

 minute shrimps, shell-fish, insects, and vegetables. I have 



