482 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFOBNIA 



(ten specimens). Females: Total length 9.00-9.50 (228-241) (six specimens); 

 folded wing 5.44-5.85 (138.2-148.7); bill along culmen 0.78-0.89 (19.8-22.6); 

 tarsus 1.52-1.63 (38.5^1.4) (ten specimens) ; adults and full-grown immatures, 

 all from California. Juvenile plumage: Like winter plumage of adults but all 

 of lighter feather edgings broader, and brighter in tone, and lower surface 

 more extensively tinged with pale tawny brown. By fading and wear this 

 becomes the winter plumage. Natal plumage: Forehead and cheeks pale buff; 

 bill pale brown, lighter at tip; top and back of head and upper surface of 

 body coarsely mottled with black on a pale buff ground; entire under surface 

 of body dull yellowish white; legs and feet (dried) yellowish brown. 



Marks tor field identification — Moderate size (about that of Killdeer, but 

 chunkier), short bill, uniformity of coloration, white axillars and lining of 

 wing, total lack of black bands or streaking on breast or sides, and lack of 

 conspicuous white on rump and wing. These features pertain to the winter 

 plumage and hence to the birds throughout their stay in California; in summer 

 there is black on the forepart of the crown and between the bill and eye. 



Voice — A rather low pleasing whistle (Goss, 1891, p. 218); on breeding 

 grounds, a short shrill whistle, dropping at intervals to a harsh note (Cameron, 

 1907, p. 256). 



Nest — On open prairie or plains of the interior; a mere depression in the 

 surface, sometimes sparingly lined with a few dried grasses (authors). 



Eggs — 3 to 4, bluntly pear-shaped, measuring in inches, 1.40 to 1.60 by 1.05 to 

 1.15 (in millimeters, 35.6 to 40.6 by 26.7 to 29.2) ; ground color deep brownish 

 drab, with small rounded spots of blackish brown, a little more numerous about 

 the larger end; deeper-lying markings of grayish are also present (Baird, 

 Brewer and Ridgway, 1884, I, p. 175; Coues, 1874, p. 458; Goss, 1891, p. 218). 



General distribution — Western North America. Breeds in the United 

 States north nearly to the Canadian boundary in Montana, south through west- 

 ern Wyoming and south-central Colorado to northeastern New Mexico, and 

 east to northwestern Texas, western Kansas and western Nebraska; winters 

 from north-central California, southern Arizona, and south-central Texas, south 

 to central Mexico and southern Lower California (A. O. TJ. Check -list, 1910, p. 

 130; Cooke, 1910, p. 94). 



Distribution in California — Common fall, winter and spring visitant locally 

 to open plains in the Sacramento-Sau Joaquin Valley, and in the coastal dis- 

 trict of southern California from Ventura County to the Mexican line. Has 

 occurred also in the San Francisco Bay region and at Monterey. Fall migrants 

 arrive from September to November, and the last spring birds are seen in 

 March. 



The Mountain Plover, or Prairie Plover as this species has more 

 aptly been called elsewhere, is typically an inland bird. It is rarely, 

 if ever, seen along the seacoast, or indeed anywhere in the vicinity of 

 any water, and in this respect differs markedly from all others of 

 our plovers. It is an exclusively American species and is restricted to 

 the southwestern portion of the continent, nesting in the Rocky Moun- 

 tain region, and wintering from the southern United States to central 

 Mexico.' Much of the winter range lies west of its breeding range, so 

 that an east-and-west course of migration must be the rule. 



In California the Mountain Plover is purely a winter visitant. 

 The earliest fall record for numbers is for Montebello, Los Angeles 



