302 THE BIRDS OF DEVOX. 



An immature bird occurred at Exmouth in the autumn of 1890, and another in 

 Jainiary If^'Jl. 



The Grey Plover is included amongst occasional TJsitors to Lundy Island (Trans. 

 Devon. Assoc. \iu }j. 3u9j. 



In Cornwall, accordin;? to Mr, E. H, Rofld, it i.s a spring and autumn 

 migrant, most frecjuently seen at the latter season after storms. In 

 Dorsetshire it regularly visits Poole Harbour at the period of its migration.s, 

 being commoner in autumn than in spring, and a few are sometimes met 

 with on the coast in winter (' Birds of Dorset '). Mr. Cecil Smith terms 

 it a rather numerous winter visitor to the muddy shores of Somerset- 

 shire. In some parts of the kingdom this bird is known as the " Mud 

 Plover.'' 



Kentish Plover, JEgmlifis cantiana (Lath.). 



A casual visitor, of extremely rare occurrence. 



A pair occurred on Plymouth Breakwater on May 7th, 18G1 ; the 

 female was shot, and is now in Mr, F. C. Kingston's collection (J. G., 

 MS. Notes; J. B. II., Trans. Plym. Inst. 18G2-G3} ; and besides these we 

 know of only one other Devonshire specimen, one in immature plumago 

 that was obtained in the Hamoaze in the autumn of 1S75 (J. G., Zool. 

 1876, p. 4719). 



Although a regular spring visitant in small numbers to the South-east 

 coast of England, where it arrives about the end of April — a few pairs 

 still, perhaps, nesting on the least disturbed parts of the Kentish and 

 Sussex shores, — this extremely pretty little Plover is very rare indeed in 

 the South-west counties ; so much so that Col. Montagu appears never to 

 have come across a specimen, and concluded, from descriptions of it 

 furnished him by friends, that it Avas no more than an accidental variety 

 of the common Pinged Plover. Had that excellent naturalist been 

 supplied with a few examples, he would have readily detected its specific 

 distinctions ; for in all stages of plumage its dark-coloured legs and 

 smaller size make it easily distinguishable from the two Ringed Plovers, 

 which have either bright-yellow or tlesh-coloured legs, according to age. 

 Considering that the Kentish Plover is not uncommon in the summer-time 

 in the Channel Islands, it is singular that its westward range does not 

 oftener include Devonshire. But it has never been our good fortune to 

 come across an example of this species ourselves in the West of England, 

 and it is only due to its occurrence on two occasions at Plymouth that we 

 are able to mention it as a Devon bird. It is equally rare in Cornwall, 

 where Mr. Ilodd knew of only three examples, Avhich had, at different 

 times, been procured in the neighbourhood of Penzance. In Dorsetshire 

 Mr. Mansel-Pleydell states that, although it had doubtless occurred, he was 

 not aware that it had ever been identified. We ourselves know of a single 

 Somerset example, although Mr. Cecil Smith was unable to include the 

 species in his book. Mr. Eilleul, of Biddisham. shot a small Plover on the 

 coa.st near Burnham, which he at once saw to be distinct from the Pingtd 

 Plover, and, on examining some Sussex specimens which we were able to 



