736 Birds of Celebes: Charadriidae. 



remarkable, as it does not appear to have been discovered as yet in either the 

 Philippines, Borneo or Java. It is, however, a migratory species , and may safely 

 be regarded as a winter visitor to Celebes, though perhaps an irregular or, 

 even, casual one. David and Prjevalsky observed that it breeds in Mon- 

 golia, and Blakiston and Pryer found its eggs near Tokio; Styan also observes 

 that a few remain to breed about the Lower Yangtse. According to David it 

 visits China and Mongolia in summer, also Corea, as Kalinowski found, where 

 it is numerous, but absent in winter. It makes its appearance on the Lower 

 Yangtse in flocks in February, most of them passing on, no doubt north, in 

 April (5); in South China Mr. De La Touche observed it occasionally in spring. 

 In the winter it descends to India and Burmah. 



Like the Common Lapwing it is of gregarious habits. Its cry is likened 

 by Davison (f 3) to the expression "did-all-eat", but the Abbe David speaks 

 of it as harsh and disagreeable. It frequents swamps, ploughed land, etc., and, 

 according to Davison, it feeds entirely upon insects. 



Seebohm points out that L. cinereus may easily be distinguished from its 

 nearest allies by its white secondaries. Lobivanellus miles, which ranges from 

 N. Australia to Amboina (Salvad.), has very large pendant wattles covering the 

 face in front of the eye, the neck white all round like the under-parts, the head 

 above black, and is, therefore, far removed from the present species. 



In this species the pollex is developed into a considerable spur on the 

 carpal edge^). Its object is no doubt for fighting with rivals and for driving 

 foes away. The Common Lapwing in which the spur is present, though less 

 developed, may always be seen during the breeding-season "stooping" and plunging 

 down in the air at approaching Crows; in fighting it has been seen to plunge 

 time after time at a rival on the ground, a noise being heard each time as if 

 a blow had been given with the wing upon the other's back as the bird turned 

 in its flight and rose again (Wiglesw , autumn 1895 — Moritzburg). Probably 

 it is thus in rushing flight that wing-spurs are always used; on the ground, 

 fighting like a cock, they would be of little or no use. 



GENUS SQUATAROLA Leach. 



Similar to Charadrms, but having a small hallux. A single migratoiy species, 

 of almost cosmopolitan distribution. 



-t 316. ? SQUATAROLA HELVETICA (L.). 



Grey Plover. 



a. Charadrius squatarola (L) ; (I) Naum., V. Deutschl. VII, 1834, 249, t. 178. 

 Squatarola helvetica (L) ; (I) Gould, Birds Austr. 1848, VI, pi. 12; (II) Dresser, B. 

 Europe VU, 455, pis. 515, 517, 518 (1871); (III) Dress., ib. 465, pi. 519 (1876); 



'I Dr. Sharpe (g I) wrongly states that the spur is absent and puts the bird in a new genus. 



