120 BIRDS OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO 



almost treads on them before seeing them. He sometimes, 

 however, found the eggs placed under the shelter of a bush. 

 After the breeding season the bright colour on the breast fades 

 away. In the month of February they commence to gather in 

 Hocks along the coast, and by the end of April disappear entirely. 



In the Province of Buenos Ayres, Durnfoixi found this 

 Plover an autumn and winter visitor, in large flocks. In Central 

 Patagonia, he met with large flocks which arrived with a strong 

 S.E. wind. 



The stomach of one of my specimens contained large bur- 

 rowing larva3 : the other, insects of many kinds and some gravel. 



iEGIALITlS PALKLANDICA (Latham) 



CharadriUS falklandiCUS, Latham, index Om., ii, p. 747, 1790; 



Oustalet, Miss. Sci. Gap. Rom, Ois., p. 114, 1891. 

 ^gialitiS falklandica, Ablott, ibis, p. 155, 1861 ; Dumford, Ibis, 



1878, p. 402 ; Sclater and Hudson, Argentine Orn., ii, p. 172, 1889 ; 



Sharps, Gat. Birds Brit. Mus., xxiv, p. 295, 1896. 



Habitat. — The Argentine Republic and Chili, to Tierra del Fnego ; the 

 Falkland Islands. 



cJ, ? , Useless Bay Settlement, -SOth Ang., 1904. 

 Iris — dark brown ; bill and legs — black. 



The Double -belted Plover is the earliest migrant of its kind. 

 I observed a small flock in Useless Bay marshes on 29th August ; 

 and they rapidly increased in numbers as spring set in. At 

 first, they were somewhat wild ; later, they became extremely 

 tame, though they always exhibited much distress should one 

 happen to invade their breeding grounds — a patch of shingle or 

 sandy earth in the \icinity of water. 



They are common on the shores of fresh-water lagoons, on 

 marshy grass-land, and on the sea shore — especially on the mud- 

 banks at low tide, in company with Trlnga fuscicolUs. Their 

 ordinar}'' call is a plaintive " W-h-i-t-t." 



