32 CHECK LIST OF THE 



(*) (266) Eskimo Curlew. 



(Numenius borealis.) 

 A very rare visitor. Breeds on the barren grounds. 



FAMILY CHARADRIID^. (THE PLOVERS.) 



Head rather large, nearly globose; bill of moderate length, shaped 

 somewhat like a pigeon's bill, with a constriction behind the horny term- 

 inal portion ; nasal fossae lined with soft skin, through which the, slit-like 

 nostrils open. Wings long and pointed, usually reaching beyond the 

 tip of the short tail. Toes, three in all our species (except Squatarola, in 

 which the hind toe is present, but very small) ; tarsus reticulate ; tibia 

 naked below. Sexes similar, but seasonal changes of plumage great. 

 Birds of this family frequent the open fields, sandy shores, or mud flats. 



GENUS SQUATAROLA. 



(270) Black-bellied Plover. 



(Squatarola squatarola.) 



Common spring and autumn visitor, passing through in the spring 

 migration between the twentieth of May and the end of the first week 

 in June. They return 'from the north in August and remain until about 

 the middle of October. Breeds in the Arctic regions. 



GENUS CHARADRIUS. 



(271) Golden Plover. (American Golden Plover.) 



(Charadrius dominicus.) 



I have never found the Golden Plover in Ontario in the spring. Dr. 

 C. K. Clarke informs me that it sometimes occurs near Kingston at that 

 season. 



In the autumn it is generally fairly abundant in most parts of the 

 country, visiting the newly ploughed fields, the muddy flats of marshes 

 and the sand bars of the lakes. 



It arrives from the north towards the end of August and departs 

 about the middle of October. Breeds on the barren grounds west of 

 Hudson's Bay. 



GENUS OXYECHUS. 

 (273) Killdeer. 



(Oxyechifs vociferus.) 



A common summer resident, generally distributed over the Province, 

 breeding throughout its range. 



Arrives about the end of March, departs early in October. 



