SHORE BIRDS 143 



infrequentlj' it is found in company with the golden plover 

 during its migrations througli tlie interior of the United 

 States. 



In its habits the curlew quite closely resembles the 

 plover. Mr. Mackay says that " In migration they fly in 

 much the same manner, with extended and broad-side and 

 triangular lines and clusters similar to those of ducks and 

 geese at such times." 



BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER 



The Black-bellied Plover, or Beetle Head, is nearly cos- 

 mopolitan; it breeds in the Arctic regions and in America, 

 winters from Florida to Brazil. 



The bird in its various phases of plumage closely resem- 

 bles the golden plover, but can be positively identified at 

 any season of the year by the presence of a hind or fourth 

 toe, which is wanting in all other plovers. These birds have 

 the legs and wings remarkably developed. Plovers lack the 

 long boring bills which are possessed by the sandpipers and 

 woodcocks. The bills of these common tide birds are short 

 and stout, and they pick their food from the surface of the 

 earth, feeding on both high and low land. 



In spring and summer the breast is one mass of jet- 

 black feathers, the upper wing coverts, tail, and back being 

 light gray. The feathers are white with innumerable little 

 bars of dark brown, giving the bird a beautiful gray effect, 

 so in contrast to most birds which are darker above. 



The autumn migration is apt to be along the seacoast 

 when the birds fly with the wind. During the spring migra- 



