478 CHARADRIID^. 



oblong. Wings rather long, acuminate, with the first quill-feather the longest. 

 Legs slender, of mean length, naked above the tarsal joint. Feet four-toed, 

 three before and one behind ; front toes joined at their base by a membrane, 

 that portion of it between the outer and middle toe being the longest ; hind toe 

 very small, or rudimental ; tarsi reticulated. Plumage thick, close, and ad- 

 pressed. Selby. 



IN its habits, its general appearance, and in its double 

 moult, or periodical change to black on the under surface of 

 the body during the breeding-season, the Grey Plover very 

 closely resembles the Golden Plover, but the presence of a 

 hind toe, though small, prevents its being included in the 

 genus Charadrius. 



The Grey Plover is by no means so plentiful a species as 

 the Golden Plover, and may be considered a winter visiter 

 rather than a native resident, being much more common at 

 the end of autumn, through the winter, and in the spring, 

 than in summer, retiring to high northern latitudes during 

 the breeding-season, and reappearing in small flocks when 

 that season is over. I have sometimes obtained a speci- 

 men in the London market in the full black plumage at the 

 end of May. Mr. Selby says, " I have occasionally met 

 with one or two of these birds on the Fern Islands in June, 

 but could never detect any of their young. These indi- 

 viduals, probably from some accidental cause, had been un- 

 equal to the usual migration." Dr. Fleming says he has 

 reason to believe that it breeds in the high grounds of Kin- 

 cardineshire. Mr. Thompson tells me it is a regular 

 autumnal visitant in Ireland, and it is more common in the 

 winter half year all round our shores than inland. Its food 

 is similar to that selected by the Golden Plover, and it is 

 an excellent bird for the table. 



M. Nilsson, the Swedish naturalist, considers that this 

 bird goes very far north to breed, returning through Swe- 

 den in August. It is known to visit Norway, the Faroe 



