OP THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 157 



Genus SQUATAROLA, or Grey Plovers. 



Type, SQUATAEOLA HELVETICA. 



Squatarola, of Leach (1816). — The birds comprising the present genus 

 are characterised by having the innermost secondaries very long and pointed, and 

 the under parts black in breeding plumage. The upper parts are spotted with 

 black and white at the same season. The most characteristic feature is the 

 presence of a hind toe. The bill is shorter than the head and rather slender ; 

 the nostrils are sub-basal and linear. The lower portion of the tibia is naked. 



This genus is composed of a single species, the range of which is almost 

 cosmopolitan, from the Intertropical realm northwards to the Arctic regions. 

 It is a well known visitor on spring and autumn migration to the British 

 Islands, and some numbers remain to winter. 



The Grey Plovers are dwellers on the open moors, tundras, and barren grounds 

 of the high north during summer ; frequenters of the sea coast during winter. They 

 are birds of rapid and prolonged flight ; upon the ground they progress by 

 walking and running. Their notes are loud and musical. Their food consists of 

 insects, worms, mollusks, small seeds, mountain fruits, and shoots' of herbage. 

 Slight nests are made upon the ground, and their richly-marked, double-spotted 

 eggs are four in number. They are monogamous ; sociable in summer, gregarious 

 in winter. 



