347 



"The name Killdeer Plover at once occurred to me ; and next day I found a small book on 

 American birds, and on reading the description of that species I found that it agreed with my 

 specimen. The bird was a female in good plump condition, and quite the reverse of an exhausted 

 straggler." 



In a work published on ' Madeira : its Climate, &c.,' by Mr. J. Y. Johnson, he states that the 

 Killdeer Plover has occurred on that island, but I do not find any confirmation of this statement. 

 It is an inhabitant of North America, where in many parts of the country it is common, and 

 occurs from the Hudson Bay Territory, where it is met with only in the summer, down to Central 

 America, where it winters. 



According to Richardson (Faun. Bor.-Am. p. 368) it " arrives on the Saskatchewan plains 

 about the 20th of April; and at that season frequents the gardens and cultivated fields of the 

 trading posts with the utmost familiarity in search of food. It hovers over the head of anyone 

 who disturbs it, reiterating a loud, shrill cry, which is supposed to resemble the word killdeer." 



Capt. Blakiston says (Ibis, 1863, p. 129) that it " arrived in the neighbourhood of Fort 

 Carlton on the 19th April in 1858. I found it a difficult bird to approach within the range of 

 small shot. Besides my own, M. Bourgeau obtained specimens and eggs on the Saskatchewan." 

 In South-eastern Oregon, Capt. Bendire found it one of the earliest birds to arrive in spring, and 

 generally distributed in summer. 



In the Western States it appears to be common everywhere, and, according to Dr. Cooper, 

 it winters in California everywhere south of San Francisco, migrating north in April and May, 

 but some remain throughout the summer in Western California. 



In the Eastern States it is much less common. I never met with it during the two years I 

 collected in New Brunswick ; my friend Mr. George A. Boardman, however, records it as occurring 

 near Calais, Maine, in autumn, but it appears to be merely an accidental visitant. 



Dr. Brewer speaks of it as generally distributed in New England, but nowhere common; 

 and it is recorded from almost all the Northern States as a common summer resident, wintering 

 in the Southern States. 



I found it common in Texas, not only in the winter but also in the breeding-season, though 

 not then so abundant as in the cold season ; but it certainly breeds there, as I found its nest. 

 In Mexico it is a tolerably common winter visitant. Messrs. Sclater and Salvin (Ibis, 1859, 

 p. 227) record it as found near Duefias; Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1860, p. 313) records it from 

 Honduras, and Mr. Frantzius (J. f. O. 1869, p. 378) as common near San Jose in Costa Rica. It 

 is also stated by Bryant to be common on the Bahamas in winter, and by Wedderburn to be 

 found in Bermuda at the same season. 



In its habits the Killdeer is a noisy, restless bird, and I, when stalking some rare bird, 

 frequently found it a perfect nuisance, as if I was unfortunate enough to come near one it would 

 generally, after running a short distance, fly up uttering its loud warning cry, which would at 

 once put all the birds in the neighbourhood on the alert. I found it equally noisy in the winter 

 as in the summer, and can therefore not endorse Audubon's statement that it is an unusually 

 silent bird at that season. I found it not only on the sea-coast, but also inland at almost every 

 pool, and have often been startled when watering my horse at some deserted-looking pool in a 



