PLOVERS 



(281) Podasocys montanus 



{Town^i-nd) (Gr., swift-footcfl: Lat., mountain). 



MOUNTAIN PLOVER ; PRy\I- 

 RIE PLOVER. No black on the 

 breast at any season. Ads. in sum- 

 mer — Plvimage as shown. A promi- 

 nent black coronal patch and a Hne 

 through the eye; upper parts uniform 

 grayish-brown. Immature birds and 

 adults in winter lack both the loral 

 stripe and the coronal patch; the 

 upper parts are also more rusty. 

 L., 9.00; W., 5.75; Tar., 1.60; B., 

 .go. Nest — A depression on the 

 ground anywhere on prairies, re- 

 gardless of the distance from water; 

 three or four brownish-gray eggs, 

 blotched with blackish, 1.50x1.10. 



Range — Western N. A., breeding 

 east to Neb. and Tex. 



ance is like that of a rather large Ring-neck, but the bill is 

 exceedingly large for a bird of its size and is wholly black. 

 Neither has it a colored eye-ring nor does the black on breast 

 extend around the neck, as does that of the Ring-neck. 

 Their eggs are deposited in hollows in the sand among short 

 beach grass; there is little chance of their discovery except 

 by flushing the sitting bird, and she will allow herself to be 

 almost trodden upon before she leaves; she knows well that 

 it is almost impossible for the eye to detect a still bird amid 

 such surroundings. If, however, they should be discovered, 

 both birds fly or run wildly about you, uttering their short 

 whistles — so short as to almost be regarded as chirps. 



MOUNTAIN PLOVER might more appropriately be 

 termed Prairie Plover, for it is upon dry, grassy or sage- 

 brush plains that they are most abundantly found. During 

 summer they are to be found distributed over the prairies in 

 pairs. After the young are able to fly, several families unite 

 and in large flocks wander about, feeding, playing, or dozing 

 at will. Their food is almost wholly of various insects and 



