622 AVES—PLOVER. 
But the circumstance which makes this bird differ from all others, is the 
astonishing and seemingly preposterous length of its legs. Mr White has 
given a very pleasing description of this natural curiosity. 
“These birds might with propriety be called the stilt plovers. My speci- 
-men, when drawn and stuffed with pepper, weighed only four ounces and a 
quarter, though the naked part of the thigh measured three inches and a half. 
Hence we may safely assert, that these birds exhibit weight for inches, and 
have incomparably the greatest length of legs of any known bird. The fia- 
mir go, for instance, is one of the most long-legged birds, and yet it bears no 
manner of proportion to the himantopus, as this bird is denominated by 
naturalists; for a cock flamingo weighs, at an average, about four pounds 
avoirdupois; and his legs and thighs measure usually about twenty inches. 
But four pounds are fifteen and a fraction times more than four ounces and 
a quarter ; and if four ounces and a quarter have eight inches of legs, four 
pounds must have one hundred and twenty inches and a fraction of legs, or 
somewhat more than ten feet; such a monstrous disproportion as the world 
never saw. !f we try the experiment in still larger birds, the disparity will 
increase. 
‘“‘Tt must be matter of great curiosity to see the stilt plover move ; to ob- 
serve how it can wield such a length of lever with such feeble muscles as 
the thighs seem to be furnished with. At best, one would expect it to bea 
bad walker; but what adds to the wonder is, that it has no back toe ” 
THE. GOL DENSE T.OWV-E Rk.) 
Tue golden, or green plover, is a well known Dird, and is found in small 
flocks, in the winter time, on all our moors, heaths, &c., where it feeds chief- 
ly on worms. It is remarkable for the whole of its plumage being elegantly 
variegated with a fine, yellowish green. From its spots somewhat resem- 
bling those of a leopard, the ancients called it pardalis. It may be enticed 
within gunshot, by a skilful imitator of their voice, and is esteemed as a 
delicacy. It is eleven inches in length, weighs nine ounces, and is found in 
France, Switzerland, Italy, and most parts of England. 
-_— 
1 Charadrius pluvialis, Lys. The genus Charadrius has the bill shorter than the 
head, slender, straight, compressed ; mandibles gibbous toward the tip; nostrils longitu- 
dinally cleft in the large membrane which covers the nasal furrow; legs slender, with 
three tes before, the outer connected with the middle one by a short membrane, and the 
inner divided ; tail slightly rounded or even; wings middle sized; the second quill feather 
ongest. 
