THE GOLDEN PLOVER 231 



ground cavity, or scratched hollow. Towards autumn 

 the young grown birds descend in flocks to the fallows, 

 or wet meadows ; and towards winter they are again 

 on the coasts, and become excessively shy. Just 

 before that period they are killed in great numbers, 

 while describing those flight-circles which bring them 

 so near to the gun of the sportsman. They resort 

 greatly to Orkney and Shetland. 



Nothing can be more pleasing to the eye than the 

 summer plumage of this beautiful bird; the deep, 

 soft, rich velvety black about its head and throat, the 

 white and yellow immediately contrasting with that 

 hue on the sides and under tail coverts ; the fine, pale 

 brown of the back and other parts ; the forehead 

 streak of white ; the shot purple glossings of its neck, 

 and the triangles of yellow on each feather ; marking 

 their contrast on this part from the nape of the neck, 

 where the feathers are dark in the centres, and 

 broadly edged with gold colour ; and so on through 

 the whole brightly tintly plumage. The winter dress, 

 though not very dissimilar, brings more ash colour 

 and grey to the feathers, and a paler yellow; while 

 the intermediate hues between winter and summer 

 are always richly varied. The bill is black ; the legs 

 grey : the female differs in the distinctness and depth 

 of the colours. Sir W. Jardine specifies, that the 

 correct limits of the species have not been ascertained, 

 and that the Arctic and American birds are specifi- 

 cally distinct. He is inclined to believe that the 

 foreign golden plover is the C. Virginianus, a smaller 



