PIPING PLOVER {Mgialitis meloda). 

 These birds, otherwise known as "Beach 

 Birds" and "Pale Ring-necks," are the 

 lightest colored of any of our shore birds, 

 even whiter than the next species, which is 

 known as the Snowy Plover. They are 

 found locally in the interior, chiefly about 

 the Great Lakes and on the Atlantic coast 

 north to Nova Scotia, although in the greater 

 part of this range they have now become 

 wholly extirpated because of shooting and 

 more perhaps because of building along the 

 coast. They are found almost exclusively 

 upon sandy beaches, with which their colors 

 harmonize so closely that they are hardly 

 visible as they run about. Their eggs, 

 which are laid in shght hollows in the sand, 

 are also almost invisible since their ground 

 is sand color and the few small specks that 

 are on the surface only add to the degree with 

 which they mock their surroundings. 



They can run with almost incredible 

 swiftness, and they will usually attempt es- 

 cape by running and hiding rather than by 

 flight. The tiny httle plover are just as 

 nimble of foot as their parents, and will hide 

 beside pebbles or behind a few spears of 

 beach grass so effectively that it is almost 

 impossible to discover them. 



Piping Plover fly swiftly and with the 

 grace characteristic of shore birds, alter- 

 nately twisting so as to expose first the upper parts and then the under sur- 

 faces. Their notes are exceedingly musical, a clear, piping queep, queep, 

 queep-lo. They measure about 7 in. in length. 



SNOWY PLOVER {Mgialitis nivosa). Slightly smaller than the last spe- 

 cies, the back just a little darker, the addition of a black mark back of the 

 eyes and with the bill wholly black instead of with an orange base like that of 

 the Piping Plover. Their actions, like those of the latter bird, are quite dif- 

 ferent from those of the abundant Semi-palmated Plover. Having the ability 

 to hide effectually, they constantly. make use of this gift, which is wholly at 

 variance with the habits of confiding "Ring-necks." Snowy Plover are found 

 in southwestern United States, north to Kansas and central California. 



PIPING PLOVER 

 SNOWY PLOVER 



43 



