The Grey Plover. *3 



Though a more marine bird, on the whole, the Grey Plover has attracted a 

 good deal of attention from its habit of migrating across country. When doing 

 so, it does not appear to follow any river or valley lines, but goes straight by 

 direction. I have several times seen them far inland at migration seasons — for 

 example, on a moor in mid Northumberland, October 27, 1877; o^ice in the centre 

 of Cambridgeshire ; and on both occasions they were travelling as nearly as 

 possible at right angles to the direction of the neighbouring rivers. Their food 

 consists of worms and mollusca, marine or terrestrial, with larvae in the latter case 

 and small Crustacea in the former. They seem to swallow a good deal of green 

 vegetable matter also, and, by the sea, usually have some sea-weed in their 

 stomachs. They pass northwards on our coasts from April and May, returning 

 southwards from the end of July, when a few old birds in breeding dress appear ; 

 next come the bulk of the young birds at the end of August, and the rest of the 

 adults and young a month later still, the adults in full winter dress. It is some- 

 what remarkable to find that species which go farthest north to breed are amongst 

 the latest to stay on our coasts in spring, and the earliest to reappear in the 

 autumn. The contrary would be expected to be the case, until the brevity of the 

 circumpolar summer occurs to the observer. 



The ordinary note of the Grey Plover is trisyllabic, and in a higher key than 

 that of the Golden ; at the nest they have a low plaintive whistle, uttered chiefly 

 on the ground, and a loud disyllabic alarm note on the wing. 



I may conclude this article with an extract from my 1895 log, detailing the 

 discovery of a Grey Plover's nest, as it is not a common experience. " Kolguiev, 

 July 8th, 1895 . . . "Afterwards, at 1-30 a.m., I piled some drift-wood against 

 the N.B. side of the tent as a further defence against the elements, (wind and 

 sleet), then, seeing the Pearsons about a quarter of a mile from camp, went out 

 to meet them, and found them busily hunting for a Grey Plover's nest ! So I 

 joined in the search, and had the luck to find it in a minute or two (four eggs). 

 It was placed on, or excavated from, a low hummock some four inches high, and 

 was partly concealed from view by the short wiry grass on the top of it. But the 

 real difficulty was — not to see the eggs, for the cover did not amount to anything — 

 but to notice them, so wonderfully did their colour harmonise with the surrounding 

 ground. There was no lining to the nest to speak of, merely some short ends of 

 the surrounding stiff grass, broken off and smoothed down, no doubt, by the action 

 of the bird's body when enlarging the hollow which formed the nest. I have 

 been growling at the walking-stick guns on the last page — and for small birds 

 they are disastrous implements, as they seem nearly always to ball their shot — but 

 they were the only weapons at hand this time, and they did me a good turn. For 



