THE PLOVERS 313 



on the prairie. I must admit the pot-shot where the 

 birds are thickest is most tempting to a novice ; but it 

 is butchery like this which causes the birds to vanish 

 from localities where they were most abundant. 



The proper gun is the twelve-gauge loaded with No. 

 8 shot, or No. 7 if the birds are wild. I would advise 

 the taking of shells loaded with both numbers, and a 

 few with No. 6 for a passing teal or wood-duck. 



A friend with whom I used to shoot snipe and plover 

 once saw a market-gunner arise from his blind and 

 throw his felt hat at a large flock before firing. The 

 birds bunched as they wheeled in a fright, mistaking 

 the hat (in the opinion of the market-gunner) for a 

 hawk, and an immense number was killed with two 

 barrels. 



The European golden plover is very similar to the 

 American ; so closely does it resemble it in fact that 

 the birds might be mistaken easily. Dr. Coues gives 

 it as his opinion that our golden plover may always be 

 distinguished by the color of the lining of the wings, 

 which is pure white in the European and ashy-gray in 

 the American species. The Pacific golden plover has 

 the same habits and closely resembles the American 

 golden plover. The only difference is its smaller size 

 and " more golden hue." With such slight variations 

 the sportsman has nothing to do. 



THE BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER 



This variety is not infrequently mistaken for the 

 golden plover, but can easily be distinguished, as Elliot 

 says, at all ages by its having the axillary plumes (the 

 long feathers growing from the armpit and seen under- 



