222 ON DROMAS ARDEOLA. 



One of the largest of these lakes, the tl Peria Karretje," ap- 

 peared, from what I saw, when in the neighbourhood, to 

 be the favourite resort of this bird; I found it all along its 

 shores in small parties of a dozen or more, or feeding singly in 

 company with other birds, and I noticed that, while flocks 

 of TringincB, Totatiina, &c, fed, as they always do, along the 

 edge of the water or on the recently uncovered foreshore, the 

 crab plovers were always out in the water at various depths. 

 When reposing, especially, they seemed to prefer standing iu the 

 water, a flock, which I tried to approach one day, being so far 

 out that I was at first uuder the impression that they must be 

 swimming. It is a most grallatorial like bird in its whole de- 

 portment, its movements, its flight, its manner of feeding, and 

 in the spots which it frequents. In the distance it has pre- 

 cisely the appearance of the Oyster-catcher, until scanned with 

 the glass, its bill and coloration undeceive one. They walk slowly 

 about ; I did not observe them running as one would expect. 

 They pack very close Avhen in a flock, and are not then so shy 

 as when they are alone. I never could get within shot of soli- 

 tary individuals, but one day after a mighty hard bit of stalk- 

 ing along slush and mud, with a belt of grass to cover the birds' 

 bodies from below, though they saw me plain enough, I got a 

 lucky " pot" at a pack of about 30, with that most useful of all 

 shot, No. 7, and got three. One of them, that was only winged, 

 gave considerable trouble in his capture, and struggled away 

 at a great rate, getting out of his depth and swimming fast and 

 well until I knocked him over with a second shot. His thick 

 breast plumage gave him considerable buoyancy, and he sat 

 high on the water. 



I did not hear their note while observing them feeding or 

 shooting at them, but when a flock was being stalked they 

 became somewhat noisy, the usual sign of alarm in shore birds, 

 and they uttered in consonance a somewhat musical note re- 

 sembling the noise of geese in the distance, which, mingled 

 with the roar of the surf on the neighbouring beach, had a 

 peculiarly wild and sea-shore-like sound. They have a steady 

 straight-along flight, with a quick flapping of the wings, and 

 keep, as I noticed, close over the water. 



The birds I procured on the Peria Karretje lake were two 

 females and a male, the latter proving* from my measurements 

 the larger of the two sexes, and it may not be unadvisable there- 

 fore to give dimensions of both male and female : — 



S Length, not taken in the flesh ; wing, the bird was in 

 moult, and the first feather therefore imperfect, but by compari- 

 son of the 2nd feathers of both sexes it would be 8*5 inches ; 

 tail from vent, 3*7; tarsus, 4; bare portion of" tibia, 1/5; 

 mid toe with the claw, 1*85 ; outer toe, with claw, 1*5 ; 



