CURSORIUSCHARADRIUS 731 



Courvite isabelle, French ; Corrione Hondo, Ital. ; Europdische- 

 Eennwgel, German ; Keruan djebeli, Arab. ; Ungano-muchacho, 

 in the Canaries. 



ad. (N. Africa). Forehead rufous isabelline, becoming grey towards 

 the hind crown, which, with the nape is ashy blue-grey ; a broad white 

 stripe above each eye, joining on the nape, and bordered below the eye 

 underneath, and on the nape above with black ; upper parts rufescent 

 isabelline ; primaries and primary coverts blackish ; middle tail-feathers 

 like the back, the rest isabelline becoming whitish at the top, and with a 

 subterminal blackish patch ; under parts isabelline, the lower abdomen 

 nearly white, the breast tinged with grey, and the lower flanks tinged with 

 blackish ; axillaries and under wing-surface black j beak dark horn but 

 greyish at the base below ; legs greyish white ; iris dark brown. Culmen 

 1-2, wing 6*05, tail 2'62, tarsus 2*15 inch. Sexes alike. The young bird 

 is duller, has the plumage marked with crescentic dark lines and lacks the 

 black, white, and blue on the head. 



Hob. North Africa, occasionally straying into continental 

 Europe, and not seldom as far north as Great Britain ; occurred 

 once in Denmark and once in Finland ; Canaries and Cape Verde 

 Islands ; Asia, east to North-west India, and south to Arabia. 



Is essentially a desert bird, frequenting dry, arid, sandy 

 plains. It is as a rule shy, and usually runs away, which it 

 does with great swiftness, on the approach of an intruder, or 

 squats on the sand, when it is difficult to distinguish it from 

 the surroundings. Its alarm-note resembles that of a Plover, 

 and in the pairing season it utters a note like rererer. It feeds 

 on insects of various kinds. It makes no nest, but in March 

 deposits its eggs, 2, occasionally 3, in number, in a depression 

 in the sandy soil. These are stone-buff or stone-ochre, closely 

 spotted and marbled with purplish grey underlying-, and 

 reddish brown or dull brown surface-markings; occasionally 

 there is a ring of darker spots round one end. In size they 

 measure about 1'48 by T8. 



CHARADBIUS, Linn., 1766. 



1020. GOLDEN PLOVER. 

 CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS. 



Charadrius pluvialis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 254 (1766); Hewitson, ii. 

 p. 291, pi. Ixxvi. fig. 2 ; Gould, B. of E. iv. pi. 294 ; Dresser, vii. 

 p. 435, pis. 515 fig. 1, 518 figs. ], 2, 519 fig. 2 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. 

 Br. Mus. xxiv. p. 191 ; Blanf. F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iv. p. 235 ; 

 Saunders, p. 547 ; Lilford, v. p. 39, pi. 14 ; Poynting, p. 39, pi. 10 ; 

 C. africarius, Linn, tit supra ; C. auratus, Suckow, Naturg. Th. ii. 

 p. 1592 (1801) ; Naum. vii. p. 138, Taf. 173. 



