OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 159 



are observed practically resident in Tasmania ; but the reader may consult what 

 I have already written on the subject of "lost birds" {The Migration of Birds, 

 pp. 184, 185). 



Allied forms. — None more nearly related than Charadrius pluvialis 

 and G. fulvus, with allied races (generically distinct), all of which have been 

 treated of in the preceding chapters. 



Habits. — The Grey Plover is a well-known bird on the British coasts 

 between the months of October and May, and although many of the individuals 

 that arrive in autumn pass on to more southern lands, a great number remain 

 with us for the winter. The young birds mostly are the first to make their 

 appearance, sometimes arriving on our coasts with bits of down still adhering to 

 their plumage. In August they begin to arrive, and continue to do so into Sep- 

 tember, only a few old birds in their company. During October and November 

 it is said the great bulk of the old birds arrive. The return migration begins in 

 May, and by the end of that month the majority have passed north, although a 

 few linger into June, and odd immature non-breeding birds are sometimes met 

 with in July. During its sojourn in our islands the Grey Plover is almost 

 exclusively confined to the low-lying coasts and salt marshes. It is especially 

 fond of the wide expanses of mud at the mouths of rivers. During winter it does 

 not appear to gather into such large flocks as the Golden Plover, and may often 

 be met with in odd pairs, or in small parties, whilst now and then stray individuals 

 attach themselves to flocks of Dunlins, Knots, or other Waders. In its actions 

 and flight it very closely resembles its congeners. It feeds much at night, 

 especially during moonlight. The foodvaries according to season, and consists of 

 various marine animals found on the shore, and worms, insects, and grubs, and 

 probably ground fruits during summer on the tundras. Seebohm describes the 

 usual alarm note of the Grey Plover as a long-drawn, plaintive, whistling kop ; 

 the call-note, common to both sexes, is a Jcl-ee or Meep. The bird has also a treble 

 note which appears to be a combination of the call and alarm note, sounding like 

 M-ee-Jcop. 



Nidification — Previous to 1875 the breeding habits of the Grey Plover 

 were but little known, and the bird's eggs were very rare in collections. The first 

 authentic eggs of this species were obtained by the Eussian naturalist and traveller, 

 Von Middendorff, in 1843, on the Taimur Peninsula. In 1864 MacFarlane obtained 

 eggs on the tundras near the Arctic Ocean in North America ; whilst in 1876 

 Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-Brown discovered the breeding grounds of this 

 bird in Europe on the tundras above the limit of forest growth, in the valley of 

 the Petchora in North-east Eussia. Between June the 22nd and July the 12th 

 these two naturalists took no less than ten nests of the Grey Plover, and carefully 

 identified the parents of each. The nest of the Grey Plover is merely a slight 



