144 



I'li.HCOCIAl- (H{AI.I,AT()UK.S ~ LI.MICOL/K. 



, 



and us tho ft'iiuile glides fnuu licr nest, if ivitproaclit'il, even wliuu the intnuk'rs are still 

 at a distancf. Slu' runs a rcrtaiii (listain'c, and il' slic smcchmmIs in enticing tiic party 

 away, will tiicii take to tii^ht. in a IVw instam-fs, wiicn tlir liird was siiriiriscd l)y a 

 near ajfiiroach iM't'orc slic Ictt, sin- iiretcndcd lauicness, and Huttert'd at tlu'ir fot't. 

 Tlu' «'Kgs wt'it' found in .luni', and sonic even as late as iluly, and (juitc t'rcsh. Wln'U 

 tiiL' gronufl was (covered with newly-fallen snow the nests were more readily recog- 

 nized. When approaciied the female usually left her position at a qu'ek paee — 

 between a run and a walk — and in no ease was slie known to tly up direetly from 

 her eg^s. In one instanee. where the presenee of a nest was susjieeted. hut the exai't 

 locality of which they were not alile to discover, the party withdrew to a distance 

 and watched, wlien the female, after resorting to various nmnauivrea to hide the place, 

 at last revealed it l)y Hnally settling down upon her eggs. 



Tlie eggs of this sjiecies have a ground id' various shades of drab, differing in 

 several specimens, and varying from a light greenish drab to a very deep shade, 

 unmixed with any other color. Others have a ground of a pale rufous-tlrab. All are 

 marked with blotches of a deep umber, api>roaching to blackness. These nuirkiugs 

 are smaller and more scattered around the pointed end; but are larger and become 

 confluent, with intensified s^jots, around the obtuse ai)ex. Their average length is 

 al)ont l.Ul inches, and their average breadth l..'U inches. Their maximum length 

 is U inches, their mininuim 1.84; their breadth varies from l.'Jo to 1.,'55 inches. 



Charadrius dominicus fulvus. 



THE PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOTEB. 



Charadritis fulvus, Gmki,. S. N. I. 1788, 687. — Couks, Klliott'.sPiybilof Islands, 1873, 179 (Prybilof 



Isliiiuls, Alaska). 

 Charadrius f ah' UH, a. J'ulnin, t'oUEs, Birds N. W. 1874, 449 (syuoiiyiny). 

 PI uviaU.1 faleus, BoNAi'. C'omjit. Hfiid. 185(5, 417. 

 Charadrius diiminicuH fuhuH, IJiniiw. Proc. U. .■<. Xiit. Mils. Vol. 3, 1880, 198, 221 ; Nora. N. Am. 



B. 1881, no. .IIS (f. — (.'oi-Es, Clieck List, 2a imI. 1882, no. 582. 

 Charadrius j-aiilhoduiluH, \Vai;i,. Syst. Av. 1827. — Cas.sin, U. S. Expl. Exp. 1848, 239. 

 C/utradrius tahi/rusis, I.K.ss. Man. II. 1828, ."521. 

 Charadrius rjiaucopstui, Fohst. Uescr. An. I'd. Licht. 1844, 176, 

 Charadrius hmijijtes, "Tkm.m. Mns. Luf,'dnn.'' 



Ouiradrius auralus oricntdlis, Ti;mm. k Si'iii.Ed. Faumi Jap. 1845, pi. 62. 

 Charadrius auratus, Sciiuknck, IJcise Amur. 1860, 410. 



Hah. Whole of A.siu, and islands throughout the Piieitic Ocean ; Prybilof Islands and const 

 of Aliu>ka (nuniLTous specimens in National Museum). 



Chau. Similar to G. duminicus, but wing much shorter, and color much more golden, the 

 upper surface being uhnost continuously washed with golden yellow. Average measurements: 

 Wing, «i.40 ; culnien, .92 ; tarsus, 1.72; middle toe, .90. 



The only American specimens of this form of tho Golden .jver, which ranges throughout the 

 islands of the Pacific, besides Southern and Eastern Asia, are from the islands and coasts of Alaska. 

 They are all in the winter plumage, suggesting the probability of their being mere migrants to our 

 shores. The very fine specimens in the collection, obtained chiefly by Messrs. Lucien M. Turner 

 and E. \\ . Nelson, of the U. S. Signal Service, at St. Michael's, Norton Sound, are perfectly typical 

 of the race, most of them Ix'ing continuou.sly golden yellow above, relieved oidy by the black 

 spotting. The jugnhini is also deeply tinged with this color. There are no specimens in the 

 Bunnner plumage, from any locality, in the collection, so we are unable to point out the exact 

 differences from the con-espondiug stage of C. dominicus} Altogether we have examined in this 



* Since the above was written, the National Museum has come into possession of an adult male in 

 changing plumage, from New South Wales (Xo. 71561, obtained from the New South Wales Museum), 



