292 KEY TO THE WATER BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 
Suscenus CHARADRIUS Linv. 
CHARADRIUS DOMINICUS J/ii//. 
American Golden Plover. 
Summer plumage: ‘Back and upper parts smoky black; feathers marked and edged with 
yellow and brown; sides of the breast whitish; rest of under parts, throat, and sides of the head, 
including eye, black; forehead whitish, a stripe extending backwards over the eye; bill black. 
Winter plumage: Upper parts brownish, feathers marked with dull tawny or buff; under 
parts are dull white streaked with ashy brown or gray on the breast and sides. 
Length, 10.25; Wing, 7; Tarsus, 1.55: Bill, .g2. 
This species may always be distinguished in any plumage from the 
Black-breast Plover by the gray axillars and the absence of the small rudi- 
mentary hind toe. 
It ranges from the Arctic regions to South America, being common on 
the coast during migration. It was at one 
time abundant in New England in the early 
fall, but its numbers have de- 
creased greatly within the past 
few years. It is not a common 
bird in Florida, although it is 
occasionally taken in the State. 
It breeds in the far North; the 
eggs are buff colored or brownish 
white mottled and marked with 
chocolate brown. 
Genus AGIALITIS Bote. 
Suscenus OXYECHUS REIcu. 
AEGIALITIS VOCIFERA (Zixm.). 
Killdeer Plover. 
Adult: Crown and back brownish gray, feathers tipped with rufous; a ring around the 
neck, lores, and a patch on the breast black; forehead white; throat and spot behind the eye 
and a band around the neck white; lower breast and belly white; tail coverts and rump 
bright rufous; tail rufous and gray tipped with black and white; bill black. 
Length, 10.65; Wing, 6.55; Tarsus, 1.40; Bill, .75. 
The Killdeer Plover ranges on the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland 
to the northern part of South America. It is a rare bird on the New Eng- 
