332 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 
quietly leaves her eggs and, flying low, circles round till we 
see her apparently coming up from a direction diametrically 
opposed to that in which her treasures lie. It will be hopeless 
for us to lie in wait for her return to the nest, unless we are 
completely concealed, for the male will keep a close eye upon 
us, and until he is quiet she will not return. When the young 
are hatched both birds meet and follow us, while in response 
to the warning the young squat close to the ground, under 
cover of some piece of heather, and so escape detection. In 
autumn these birds collect in large flocks, and though many 
remain on the moors all the year round, the majority come to 
the marshes near the sea and gradually pass southwards. 
The sexes are alike in plumage, but the female generally 
shows less black underneath. The whole of the upper parts 
are dark brown, with two or more yellow spots on the margins 
of each feather. The throat and breast are black, bordered by 
a clear-cut white line. Bill and legs black. In winter the black 
on the throat and chest is replaced by white, with pale brownish 
mottlings across the latter. Length about 1oin. ; wing 7°5 in. 
The young in first plumage have the breast suffused with 
yellowish, and flanks profusely mottled with brown. It is 
generally distributed throughout these islands, breeding com- 
monly on the moorlands, and becoming much more numerous 
in Scotland. 
LESSER GOLDEN PLOVER 
Charadrius dominicus (P. L. S. Miller) 
This species is subdivided into two forms, one of which is 
found in Eastern Asia, while the other is an inhabitant of 
North America. 
Examples of both these forms have been shot in the 
United Kingdom, although the American form, as might be 
expected, has occurred the more frequently of the two. 
Both these forms may be distinguished from our common 
