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PR.tlCOClAL (*RAI-LATOKES - LlMICOLi*:. 





Mr. Salvin iiu-t witli Wilson's I'luvfi- mi tlu' coast of HotKlunis in the latter part 



of April. It was tlitMi lir liii^. uinl lu- (liscovi-rcil two oi its iicsts. He iilso foiiiid 



that this spt'cics was vcrv alnimlaut at Chiapain. in (iiiatt'niala, whi-ri- he met with it 

 in Hoi-k.H ill tin- company ol .K. mnil/i'i/mn/i'. It ocmirrcd also and remained to 

 l)rccd anions; the havs «( l>eli/.e. It is also recorded from the northwestern euast of 

 IVni. 



Aceordin^r to Lt'otaiid, this I'lover is a nii^Matorv visitant of the Island of Trinidad, 

 arriving' there alMiiit the end of July, and leaving; in October. It frequents the lior- 

 ders of the sea, I'unnin;.; on the sand in ipietit of the worms on which it feeds. As it 

 takes to tlii;ht it usually utters a peculiar cry, which is slightly rolling, and not un- 

 ph'a.sant. These iiirds (M-cur sometimes Wy themselves, and sonu'times mingled with 

 Trliii/ir and other shore-birds; and Pr. Kryant found this an almndunt resident 

 species in the Kahamas. 



(iiraud nn-ntioned this among the Iiirds of Long Ishind, hut as not common there. 

 When oli.served it was usually in company with the mml/tdfiiinfii, with the general 

 characteristics (d' wliicli its own very closely correspond. Audulion states that while 

 in Florida, near St. .\ugustine. in the months of DeoemlM-r and .lantuiry, he found 

 this species much more aliundant than any other. There were few of the keys 

 having a sandy lieach or a rocky shore without one or more pairs. The young birds 

 assembled in tie- fall and spent the winter months a|iart from the old ones. 



J)r. ('ones, who had an excidlent opportunity for watching this species in North 

 Carolina, has given (Am. Nat. III. .'ill)) a full and minute account (d' its habits 

 during the summer months, lie regards it as eminently characteristic of the shores 

 of the South .Vtlantic Stitt's. It moves northward along the coast in April, collecting 

 in small tloeks (d' from six to twenty or more, and ]tassing at once to their chosen 

 places, there to explore the sea-iieaches anil the uiuiidy Hats in search cd' food. They 

 are gentle and unsuspicious. Their note is described as being half a whistle and 

 half a chir|». and as very diffen-nt from the clear mellow piping of the other species. 

 After a short interval b)llowing their first arrival, they separate in jiairs aiul resort 

 to the sand-hills near the coast to l»recd. When their nest is ajiproached they Hit 

 to and fro, near the ground, at a little distance, in anxious groups of three or four, 

 uttering indescribably touching apjicals. now alighting, as if in hopes their trea- 

 sures may remain undisci'vered. and then running swiftly along, too frightened for a 

 moment's rest. 



Wilson's I'lover deposits its eggs in a ludlow in the sand about four inches in 

 diameter, but so shallow as to be hardly noticeable as a depression. Sometimes it 

 lays its eggs in a scanty tuft (d' grass, but in no instance has it been noticed as using 

 any lining for its nests. The numlter o( eggs is said to be invariably three; but that 

 oecasi(uially it may lay four is inferred from finding in the oviduct of a female ju.st 

 killed (uie egg ready for deposition, and three others in a highly devtdoped .state. It 

 begins to lay alMiut the middle (d' May, but differs as to the time so much that, early 

 in June, eggs tpiitc fresh, others nearly hattdicd, and newly Hedged young, may all 

 be oi)served. The nestlings are described as being curious-looking aiul very pretty. 

 They are able to run as soon as they are fairly dry from the egg, and are ditlicult to 

 Hud, as they scpiat so idoscly to the .sand, which they resendde in color. 



Their i-ggs are somewhat like those of the Least Tern, but are larger, and in some 

 other respects different. Tin; variations of the eggs of the Tlovers, both in size and 

 shape, are considerable, one measuring 1.4r» inches by !.(»">, and another only 1.'-- 

 inches by l.(M); tiiey also differ very materially in shape from each other. Their 

 ground-eohir wlien fresh is describeil as a pale olivo-drab, inclining to a greenish hue 



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