OP THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 153 



bare patches of pebble-strewn ground, and little plains where gay flowers and the 

 various fruits of the tundra flourished. A pair of Plovers soon made their appear- 

 ance during an excursion on the 14th of July, and after much fruitless watching 

 one of them, the male, was shot. The nest was found shortly afterwards 

 amongst the moss and lichen, containing the full complement of eggs. At Grol- 

 cheeka this Plover is very common, but unfortunately Seebohm was too late 

 for eggs (20th of July) , and here obtained a nestling only. The nest was merely 

 a slight depression lined with broken stalks of reindeer moss. The eggs are 

 almost precisely similar to those of the European Golden Plover, but are slightly 

 smaller and paler in ground-colour. Those obtained by Seebohm varied from 

 1"92 to 1"85 inch in length by 1"32 to r27 inch in breadth. In the same valley 

 Mr. H. L. Popham found this species more numerous than the Golden Plover, 

 and remarked the difference in the note of the two birds, which rendered their 

 identification an easy task. The eggs obtained by Mr. Popham varied in length 

 from 2*04 to 1"96 inch, and were 1'33 inch in breadth. One brood only is reared 

 in the year, and both parents appear to assist in domestic duties. 



Diagnostic cliaracters. — Charadrius, with the rectrices barred, and 

 the axillaries smoke-grey. Length of wing, 6-0 to 6'7 inches. Total length, 

 9 inches. 



