KENTISH PLOVER 223 



extending from France on the west side, across to the Black 

 Sea, while still further eastward it can be traced over a large 

 area of Temperate and Tropical Asia as far south as China. 

 On migration in the cold season it reaches the Malay 

 Peninsula and India. Its northerly migration-route barely 

 touches the Baltic. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Forehead, white, with 

 a black patch above ifc ; top of head and back of neck, 

 brown, tinged with rufous ; above the eye there is a white 

 stripe and in front of the eye a black stripe ; sides and 

 back of lower neck, patched with black forming an incom- 

 plete ring ; breast and abdomen, white ; back, scapulars, 

 wings, and inner tail - feathers, brown ; primaries, dark 

 brown ; outer tail-feathers, white. 



Adult female nuptial. No black on the forehead ; neck- 

 collar, brown ; rest of plumage similar to the male, but 

 duller in colour. 



Adult winter, male and female. Differs from the 

 nuptial plumage in the absence of rufous tinge on top of 

 head, and the black markings are not developed. 



Immature, male and female. Resembles the adult winter 

 plumage, but the feathers of the back and wings are mar- 

 gined with buff. 



BEAK. Black. 



FEET. Black. 



IBIDES. Brownish-black. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 6*75 in. 



WING 4-25 



BEAK 0'5 



TARSO-METATARSUS 0*9 



EGG ... 1-2 X *9in. 



Allied Species and Eepresentative Forms. M. nivosa, 

 with white feathers in front of the eye, is the American 

 representative. 



