CHARADRIIDE. 547 
THE GOLDEN PLOVER. 
CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS, Linnzus. 
The Golden Plover breeds in the British Islands, but it is most 
plentifully and generally distributed on its migrations and during 
the colder months of the year. Early in August a few birds with 
faded black breasts make their appearance, while large flocks of young 
usually arrive towards the end of September, and these are followed 
from October to November by the adults which have moulted. A 
return northward is noticed in March, when the birds which have 
their breeding-places on our moorlands retire from the coasts which 
they have frequented during the winter ; but long after these have 
been engaged in the task of incubation, flocks from the south con- 
tinue to pass northward ; the plumage of the later arrivals being, as 
a rule, far darker, especially as regards the black breast, than that of 
our home-keeping individuals. These nest sparingly on the high 
ground in Devon and Somerset, more plentifully in Breconshire and 
other counties of Wales and the Marches, and in increasing abundance 
from Derbyshire northward to Sutherland. In the Orkneys, Shet- 
lands, and Hebrides this species is common, and enormous numbers 
frequent the pastures and shores in winter. In Ireland it breeds on 
many of the mountains and several of the bogs, while vast flocks or 
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