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WILSON'S PLOVER. 



Charadrius Wilsonius, Ord. 



PLATE CCIX. Male and Female. 



Reader, imagine yourself standing motionless on some of the sandy 

 shores between South Carolina and the extremity of Florida, waiting with 

 impatience for the return of day ; — or, if you dislike the idea, imagine 

 me there. The air is warm and pleasant, the smooth sea reflects the 

 feeble glimmerings of the fading stars, the sovmd of hving thing is not 

 heard ; nature, universal nature, is at rest. And here am I, inhaling 

 the grateful sea-air, with eyes intent on the dim distance. See the bright 

 blaze that issues from the verge of the waters ! and now the sun himself 

 appears, and all is life, or seems to be ; for as the influence of the Divi- 

 nity is to the universe, so is that of the sun to the things of this world. 

 Far away beyond that treacherous reef, floats a gallant bark, that seems 

 slumbering on the bosom of the waters like a silvery sea-bird. Gentle 

 breezes now creep over the ocean, and ruffle its surface into tiny wavelets. 

 The ship glides along, the fishes leap with joy, and on my ear comes the 

 well known note of the bird which bears the name of one whom every or- 

 nithologist must honour. Long have I known the bird myself, and yet 

 desirous of knowing it better, I have returned to this beach many suc- 

 cessive seasons for the purpose of observing its ways, examining its nest, 

 marking the care with which it rears its young, and the attachment which 

 it manifests to its mate. Well, let the scene vanish ! and let me present 

 you with the results of my observations. 



Wilson's Plover ! I love the name because of the respect I bear to- 

 wards him to whose memory the bird has been dedicated. How pleasing, 

 I have thought, it would have been to me, to have met with him on such 

 an excursion, and, after having procured a few of his own birds, to have 

 listened to him as he would speak of a thousand interesting facts connected 

 with his favourite science and my ever-pleasing pursuits. How delightful 

 to have talked, among other things, of the probable use of the double claws 

 which I have found attached to the toes of the species which goes by his 

 name, and which are also seen in other groups of shore and sea birds. Per- 

 haps he might have informed me why the claws of some birds are pectinated 



