and the Maritime Provinces. I 29 



" The black-bellied plover, Charadrius squatarola, often called the 

 ' bull-head,' makes its northern migration early in May and returns to our 

 coast about the middle of August. It seems to prefer the shore more than 

 does the golden plover, but it often associates with that bird in pastures 

 and fields, where it feeds upon grasshoppers, and other insects, and seeds. 

 Generally, however, it gleans its subsistence on the strand, and finds in 

 the small shell-fish, and other minute marine forms, an abundance of food. 

 It is somewhat shy, but I have generally had no difficulty in calling it to 

 within gunshot by imitating its plaintive note. 



" The golden plover, Charadrius dominions, is, in my estimation, one 

 of the best of our waders, in a sportsman's point of view, and I have had 

 better success with it than with any of the others. It is a common bird, all 



and unspotted on the forehead ; sides of the neck and rump tinged with 

 ashy, and having irregular transverse bars of brownish-black on the back, 

 scapulars, and wing coverts ; the rump, also frequently with transverse bars 

 of the same; lower part of the abdomen, tibia and under tail coverts, 

 white ; quills, brownish-black, lighter on their inner webs, with a middle 

 portion of their shafts white, and a narrow longitudinal stripe of white fre- 

 quently on the shorter primaries and secondaries ; tail, white, with transverse 

 imperfect narrow bands of black ; the black color of the under parts gener- 

 ally with a bronzed or coppery lustre, and presenting a scale-like appearance ; 

 the brownish-black of the upper parts with a greenish lustre. 



Younger and winter plumage. Entire upper parts dark-brown, with 

 circular, and irregular spots of white, and frequently of yellow, most 

 numerous on the wing coverts ; upper tail coverts, white ; under parts, white 

 with short longitudinal lines, and spots dark brownish-cinerous, on the neck 

 and breast; iris, black; total length about eleven and a half inches ; tail, 

 three inches; wings, seven and a half inches. 



Golden Plover. Adult. Bill, black, rather short and slender; along 

 the gape, one inch and an eighth, much slighter than that of the other ; legs, 

 moderate ; no hind toe ; tarsus covered before and behind with small circu- 

 lar or hexagonal scales; upper parts, brownish-black with numerous small, 

 circular and irregular spots of golden-yellow, most numerous on the 

 back and rump, and on the upper tail coverts, assuming the form of trans- 

 verse bands generally ; also with some spots of ashy-white ; entire under 

 parts, black with a brownish or bronzed lustre ; under tail coverts, mixed 

 or barred with white ; forehead, border of the black of the neck, under 

 tail coverts, and tibiae, white ; quills, dark brown ; middle portion of the 

 shafts, white, frequently extending slightly to the webs, and forming longi- 

 tudinal stripes on the shorter quills ; tail, dark-brown, with numerous irreg- 

 ular bands of ashy-white, and frequently tinged with golden-yellow ; legs, 

 dark bluish-brown. 



Younger. Under parts, dull ashy, spotted with brownish on the neck 

 and breast, frequently more or less mixed with black ; many spots of the 

 upper parts, dull ashy-white ; other spots, especially on the rump, golden- 

 yellow ; total length about nine and a half inches ; wing, seven inches ; 

 tail, two and a half inches. 



