160 ASIATIC GOLDEN PLOVER. 



Order XIII.— GRALLATORES. 



Familt/ CHARADRIID2E. f Bonaparte.) 



Genus Charadrius. fLinncBus.J 



Generic Characters. — Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight, com- 

 pressed at its base, and swollen at its point; nasal furrow prolonged for 

 two thirds of its length. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, longitudinally cleft 

 in the membrane of the furrow. Feet long, or of moderate length, slender; 

 three toes all in front, the outer toe slightly connected at the base to the 

 middle toe by a membrane; the inner one free. Tail slightly rounded or 

 square. Wings moderate, — the first quill slightly shorter than the second, 

 which is the longest in the wins:. 



ASIATIC GOLDEN PLOVER, 



Charadrius fulvus. 



Charadrius fulvus, Gmelin; Syst. Nat. i., p. 687, (1788.) 



" pluvialis, Pallas; Zoog. Ross. As., ii., p. 141, (181 1.) 



Jardine; 111. Orn., pi. 85, (1830.) 

 " pluvialis orientalis, Schlegel; Faun. Japon., p. 106, (1842.) 



Pluvialis longipes, "Temminck." Bonaparte; Compt. Rend., 



1856, p. 417. 



Specific Characters. — Always to be distinguished from pluvialis by its smaller 

 size, comparatively longer legs, and grey instead of white axillaries. 



This very distinct species of Golden Plover, an inhabitant of Asia, 

 the Malay Archipelago, Australia, and New Zealand, comes occasionally 

 within the European limits. It has been observed at Heligoland, 

 (c.f. Ibis, 1862, p. 71,) and is seen in Malta every second or third 

 year, generally early in spring, and not in company with pluvialis, 

 but solitarily or in pairs. 



In the "Ibis" for 1865, Mr. Wright, the zealous naturalist of the 

 island of Malta, writes, *'I have to record the capture of a second 



