396 Mr. P. R. Lowe on the Common 



Seebolim separated a larger race, supposed to be resident in 

 the British. Isles, but other ornithologists have not followed 

 him, and the status of this race remains very douhtfalP 

 (Italics ours.) 



Considering, as we have just remarked, the almost micro- 

 scopic eye which naturalists have been focusing upon other 

 British subspecies, it is a surprising fact that the status of 

 Seebohm^s C hiaticola major could possibly have been called 

 in question, and that ornithologists should have hesitated in 

 following his lead ; for it certainly requires no microscopic 

 eye to recognise the validity of this subspecies. It is, in 

 fact, very easily recognisable and is, one would be inclined 

 to think, more worthy of recognition than some other British 

 subspecies which have lately been differentiated. For this 

 reason, I have thought it might be useful to bring to the 

 notice of ornithologists the following notes, which are the 

 result of an examination of some two hundred examples of 

 the Common Ringed Plover contained in the British Museum 

 and other collections. 



Of these specimens, more than half were rejected as being 

 either immature, unsexed, or otherwise wanting in the data 

 attached ; while, for the purpose of comparing the differences 

 in coloration between the insular and continental races, 

 only those birds were selected which had been obtained 

 during the breeding season. It will be noticed, however, 

 that in the lists appended below I have included birds shot 

 in August and also birds from other localities than the 

 British Isles, this being done for the double purpose of 

 getting an idea of the relative measurements of the two 

 races and of demonstrating their range as far as was 

 possible with the material available. 



Unfortunately, I have not been able to examine any 

 specimens of the tyjaical race — jE. hiaticola hiaticola L. — 

 from the restricted typical locality (Sweden) ; but as 

 specimens from Norway were included in the examples 

 compared, I do not think this is of any material im- 

 portance. 



