GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 125 



Allied Forms. — yEgialith Matkula major, and ^. semipal- 

 mata. For particulars of which see preceding chapter. 



Time during which the Ringed Plover may be taken. 



— August 1st to March 1st 



Habits. — The habits of the small race of the Ringed Plover 

 are not known to differ in any important respect from those of its 

 larger ally. It is rather a late migrant, probably because it spends 

 the summer in the Arctic regions, where the season is much later 

 than in more southern latitudes. It is said to leave its winter 

 quarters in Africa during April and May, and passes along our 

 coasts during May and the beginning of June. Many birds cross 

 Continental Europe and Western Asia, following the great river 

 valleys to and from the Arctic haunts. In the valley of the Petchora, 

 Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-Brown first noted the arrival of the 

 Ringed Plover at Ust Zylma on the 26th of May, about a week 

 after the ice on the great river began to break up, and midsummer 

 had suddenly displaced midwinter. Further east in the valley of 

 the Yenesay, the bird appears to be a little later, and Mr. Seebohm 

 did not observe it until the 8th of June. Nearly ten degrees 

 further north it is probably later still in its arrival. This race is 

 said to migrate in flocks, which do not mix with the larger 

 form. It frequents the banks of rivers, sandbanks, and the 

 margins of lakes, as well as the fiat, sandy coasts. It is not 

 known to differ either in the manner of its flight, its food, or its 

 noteSj from the larger race. The southern migration commences 

 at the end of August, and lasts until October. 



Nidification. — -The small race of Ringed Plover is not known 

 to differ in any respect from its larger ally in the matter of its 

 nesting arrangements. Of course, this may be owing to the 

 neglect of observers, who, having the means of studying this portion 

 of its economy, have confused the two races. It is rather a 

 remarkable fact that Colonel Feilden found a nest of this race lined 

 with the green fleshy leaves and stems of Atriplex littoralis, a fact 

 which suggests, if it does not actually prove, a difference of habit. 

 It may be that in the high north some sort of lining is added to 

 the sandy nest for the purposes of warmth. The eggs of this race 

 are four in number, and, although they do not differ in colour, 

 they are constantly and very perceptibly smaller. Only one 



