PLOVERS 



(272) Charadrius dominicus 

 dominicus 



(Miillcr) rr.at.. a plover). 



GOLDEN PLOVER. No hind 

 toe. Bill more slender than that 

 of the last species. A.xillars gray in 

 all plumages. Ads. in siimtner — 

 Plumage as shown; the upper parts 

 being handsomely marked with 

 golden-brown. The black on under 

 parts extends along the flanks to 

 the tail. In winter — Upper parts 

 duller; under parts grayish-white, 

 indistinctly mottled with gray. L., 

 10.50; W., 7.00; Tar., 1.7s; T., 

 3.00; B., .90. 



Range — Breeds in Arctic regions. 

 Migrates south chiefly over the 

 Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia; 

 a few through the Miss. Valley and 

 nearly all pass north by that route. 



ternied by some hunters, and Beetle-heads by others, bear 

 considerable resemblance to 3'oung Golden Plover, but can 

 at once be distinguished when in the hand or on the \Ying by 

 the fact that the axillars, the long inner feathers under the 

 wings, are black, while those of the other species are gray. 

 The present species also has a tiny hind toe. 



Their flight is less graceful than any of the sandpipers 

 and most of the plover, as their bodies are quite heavy; they 

 fly rapidly, in a direct line, with rapid beatings of the wings. 

 They have a clear, mellow whistle, one easily imitated, so it 

 is an easy matter for the gunner in his blind to call a flock 

 down to the painted decoys. 



GOLDEN PLOVER are even handsomer than the Black- 

 bellied species, as the black on the under parts is more 

 extensive and the back is covered with golden-yellow spots. 

 FuU-plumaged birds are rarely seen in the United States 

 during the fall migration; in fact, few are seen anyway, for 

 they follow closely the path of the little Eskimo Curlews, 

 the bulk of them leaving our coast at Labrador and flying 



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