Migratory Birds in British Guiana. 269 



The adult birds have the head white, more or less 

 streaked or mottled with black. The upper surface is 

 chestnut-red, mottled with black, except for white bars on 

 the wings and tail. The breast is black, this colour often 

 coming high up the neck — the rest of the under surface 

 being white. In the young birds, the black and red of 

 the adult plumage become more or less rufous and brown. 



These birds arrive here at the same time as the Golden 

 Plover, and being greatly appreciated for the table are 

 shot whenever possible. The earliest arrivals seem dis- 

 tin6lly to be young birds, in their duller plumage. 



A special feature of this species lies in the fa6l of its 

 being as common in the Old Word as it is in the New — 

 a feature already pointed out as quite exceptional in the 

 avifauna of the two regions. In the Old World, it is 

 known to nest in extreme N. W. Europe in the early 

 summer, passing later to the south, extending from 

 England to Siberia, and thence migrating to Southern 

 Asia and Africa, Polynesia and New Zealand for the 

 winter, and returning to its usual haunts for breeding in 

 the spring. 



In the New World, the Turnstone breeds in the Ar6lic 

 regions generally, eastwards as far as Greenland, and 

 passes through Canada and the United States south- 

 wards in the early spring in its migration. 



These birds frequent the open flats by the sea, where 

 they will be found turning over with their beaks the sea- 

 weeds and stones, under which they seek the crustaceans 

 and molluscs which form the chief part of their food. 

 From this habit, they have derived the common name 

 by which they are chiefly known in both hemispheres. 

 The local name " White-winged Plover" is given on 



