234 CHARADKIID^ 



Europe,' 1880). On its southern migration in autumn, it 

 visits the coast-lands of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North 

 America, travelling in the cold season as far as India, 

 Australia, Madagascar, and Central America. On passage, 

 it has been taken along the shores of rivers and other 

 inland waters. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. 1 Forehead, white, this 

 colour extending back over the eye as a streak ; top of 

 head, back, scapulars, and wings, chequered and barred 

 with dark brown and white ; primaries, dark brown, the 

 shorter ones being thinly edged with white ; tail, barred 

 black and white ; cheeks, throat, neck, and breast, black ; 

 abdomen and under tail-coverts, white ; axillaries, black. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar to the male plumage, 

 except that the black on the cheeks and under-parts is less 

 developed and takes the form of irregular patches ; the 

 back and wings are less mottled than in the male nuptial 

 plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Forehead, cheeks, neck, 

 throat, and breast, washed with pale greyish-white ; abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts, white ; back and wings, chequered 

 light brown and white. 



Immature, male and female. The shadings on the top 

 of the head, hind-neck, back, scapulars, and wings, are pale 

 straw-yellow, and the ground-colour of brown predominates 

 (especially on the head) more than in the adult winter- 

 plumage. Also, in the immature bird, the mottling is 

 carried down from the breast to the lower part of the 

 abdomen and flanks ; axillaries, smoky-brown rather than 

 black. 



BEAK. Blackish. 



FEET. Dark brown ; a very small hind-toe. 



IKIDES. Blackish-brown. 



1 Note. At the early date of January 19th, 1900, Mr. F. Walker shot 

 a Grey Plover on the slob-lands of Dublin Bay, showing signs of the 

 nuptial plumage, in the form of a few small black patches under the 

 throat, and on the breast. 



On March 17th, 1900, I saw two beautiful birds, in full nuptial 

 dress, among a flock of fourteen, in ordinary winter-plumage. 



