BIEDS CHARADRIDAE — AEGIALITIS MELODUS. 



695 



This species considerably resembles Hiaticula minor, of Europe, and R. torquata, of the 

 same continent also, with botb of wbicb it has been confounded. It is intermediate in size 

 between the two, and, in fact, can only be distinguished from the former with some difficulty. 

 It appears to inhabit the whole of North America. 



List of specimens. 



Lecality. 



Carlisle, Pa 



do 



Coaat of New Jersey . 



Presidio, Gal 



Putaluma, Oal 



Shoalwater Bay 



Pugct's Sound 



When col- 

 lected. 



Aug, 16,1845 

 Aug. 16,1845 



May 4,1853 

 May 7,1856 

 May 3,1854 



Whence obtained. 



S. P. Baird , 



do 



do 



Lieut. Trowbridge. 



E. Samuels 



Gov. Stevens 



A. Campbell 



Collected by- 



Dr.' Cooper ... 

 Dr. Kunnerly.. 



Length. 



Stretch 

 of wings. 



8.00 

 7.35 

 7.00 



15.00 

 13.40 

 15.50 



Wing. 



7.50 

 5. CO 



Remarks. 



Iris brown, feet black . 



AEGIALITIS MELODUS, (0 r d .) Cab. 



Piping Plover. 



Charadrius melodus, Ord, ed. Wil.". VII, 1824, 71.— Bon. Am. Orn. IV, 1832, 74; pi. xxiv.— Nott. Man. IT, 

 18.— AuD. Orn. Biog. Ill, 1835, 154 : V, 578 ; pi. 220.— 1b. Birds Am. V, 1>42, 223 ; 

 pi. 321. 

 .Segialtes melodus, Bon. List, 1838. 

 .3egialitis melodus, Cab. Jour. 1856, 424. 



Charadrius hiaticula, Var. Wils. Am. Orn. V, 1812, 30 ; pi. xxxvii. 

 Charadrius okeni, Wagler, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 24. 



Figures.— Wilson, Am. Orn. V, pi. 37, fig. 3.— Bonap. Am. Orn. IV, pi. 24, fig. 3.— Aod. B. of Am. pi. 220; oct. 

 ed. V, pi. 321. 



Sp. Ch. — About the size of the preceding; bill short, strong. Mull. Forehead, ring around the back of the neck, and 

 entire under parts, white, a band of black in front above the band of white ; band encircling the neck before and behind black, 

 immediately below the ring of white on the neck behind. Head above and upper parts of body light brownish cinereous ; 

 rump and upper tail coverts lighter, and often nearly white ; quills dark brown, with a large portion of their inner webs 

 and shafts white ; shorter primaries with a large portion of their outer webs white ; tail at base white, and with the outer 

 feathers white ; middle feathers with a wide subterminal band of brownish black, and tipped with white . Bill orange at base, 

 tipped with black; legs orange yellow. Female. Similar to the male, but with the dark culors lighter and less in extent. 

 Young. No black band in front ; collar around the back of the neck ashy brown. 



Total length, about 7 inches ; wing, 4| ; tail, 2 inches. 



Hob. Eastern coast of North America. Nebraska, (Lieutenant Warren.) Louisiana, (Mr. G. Wurdemann.) 



Specimens from the survey of Lt. Warren, collected by Dr. F. V. Hayden in the valley of 

 the Biver Platte^ are in plumage apparently perfectly mature, and one which has never been 

 accurately described nor figured by any author. In these specimens the black ring around the 

 neck is perfect in front, and very conspicuous in both males and females, though narrower 

 and less distinct in the latter. Usually in specimens obtained on the Atlantic coast, the ring 

 alluded to is interrupted in front and assumes the form of two large spots on the side of neck 

 or upper part of the breast, in which plumage this bird has been described and figured by both 

 Bonaparte and Audubon, as cited above. The figure by Wilson represents the more mature 

 bird. 



There are no specimens of this bird in the present collection from west of the Bocky 

 mountains. 



