288 GOLDEN PLOVER. 



It feeds upon beetles and other insects ; also worms 

 and grubs. It is a very handsome bird ; the upper 

 parts are greyish brown, head dark brown, throat 

 white ; breast greyish brown, bordered beneath with 

 a broad white belt ; below this the colour is a rich 

 chestnut, shading into black and again into buffish 

 white beneath the tail. 



The nest is said to be a mere hollow in the ground 

 on the highest mountain tops, with a few scraps of 

 moss or lichen placed in it. 



The eggs are of a buff ground colour slightly tinged 

 with olive, thickly spotted and blotched with blackish 

 brown and dark grey. 



The bird can be tamed but will not live long in 

 confinement. 



GOLDEN PLOVER. 



CHARADRIUS PLUVIAUS. 



Family CHARADRIIDJE. Genus CHARADRIUS. 



Yellow Plover Whistling Plover. 



The Golden Plover is distributed throughout the 

 British Isles during the winter, when its numbers are 

 increased by very large migrations from Northern 

 Europe. In the breeding season it retires to the open 

 heaths and moors of the North, where it is fairly 

 abundant. It is partial to swampy ground, and, as it 

 constantly washes its feathers, water seems a necessity 

 to it. In the winter these birds collect into large 

 flocks, many thousands in number, and resort to the 

 coast, particularly the eastern counties of England, 

 and marshes, where they obtain their food on the mud 



