CHARADRIID^, TLOVER. GEN. 189, 190. ' 243 



all near VaneUus proper, and a part of them are 4-toed. Our species are found 

 along the seashore, b}' the water's edge in other open places, and in dry plains and 

 fields. They all perform extensive migrations, appearing with great regularity in 

 the spring and fall, and most of them breed far northward. They are all more or 

 less gregarious except when breeding. They run and fly with great rapidity ; the 

 voice is a mellow whistle ; the food is chiefly of an animal nature. The eggs are 

 commonly four in number, speckled, very large at one end and pointed at the other, 

 placed with the small ends together in a slight nest or mere depression in the ground. 

 The sexes are generally similar, but the changes with age and season are great. 

 Obs. The European lapwing, VaneUus cristatus, is reported by Mr. Dall from 

 Alaska, where, however, specimens were not talvcn. (Alaska and its Resources, p. 580.) 



jf 



Fig. 154. Bl;ick-belliecl Plover. 



I Q V 189. Genus SQUATAROLA Cuvier. 



Blach-hellied Plover. Beetle-headed Plover. Whistling Field Plover. 

 Bull-head. Ox-eye. A small hind toe, hardly J long ; plumage speckled. 

 Adult ill breeding season (rarely seen in the U. S.) : face and entire nnder 

 parts black, upper parts variegated 

 with black, and M'hite or ashy ; tail 

 barred with black and white ; quills 

 dusky, with largo white patches. Adult 

 at other times, and j'oung : below white, 

 more or less shaded with gray, the 

 throat and breast speckled with dusky ; 

 above blackish, speckled with white or 

 yellowish ; the rump white with dark 

 bars ; legs dull bluish. Old birds 

 changing show every grade, from a few 

 isolated black feathers on the under parts, to numerous large black patches. 

 11-12 ; wing 7 or more ; tail 3 ; bill l-lj ; tarsus 2 ; middle toe and claw 1^. 

 A bird commonly diffused over most parts of the world. Wils., vii, 41, pi. 

 57, f. 4; AuD.,v, 199, pi. 315; NuTT.,ii,26; Cass. iuBo., 697. helvetica. 



190. Genus CHARADRIUS Linnaeus. 



Golden Plover. Frost-hird. Bidl- 

 Jiead. No hind toe ; plumage speckled 

 above, and in the breeding season black 

 below, as in the last species, but much 

 of the speckling bright yellow, and the 

 rump and upper tail coverts like the 

 back ; forehead, and a broad line over 

 the eye to the nape, white ; tail feathers 

 grayish-brown, with imperfect white or 

 ashy bars ; axillars gray or ashy. At 

 other times the under parts nearly as 



in the last species. 10-11; wing 7 or less ; tail under 3 ; bill 1 or less; 



tarsus 1§ ; middle toe and claw 1^. N. Am., abundant in the U. S. in 



Fig. 155. Golden Plover; winter plumage. 



