445 



from Ch. pluvialis there cannot be much doubt, and an excellent dissertation on this subject is given in the 

 ' Fauna Central-Polynesiens ' of Drs. Finsch and Hartlaub ; but Ch. fulvus and Ch. virginicus are very closely 

 allied. In the above-mentioned work these learned ornithologists remark as follows : — " With regard to the 

 American Golden Plover (Ch. virginianus) it is, from its grey axillaries and under wing-coverts and slightly 

 feathered tibia, so closely allied to the Asiatic Ch. fulvus, that it is very probable that they are identical. 

 Pickering's observation to the effect that when at sea on the 13th of November, between the Sandwich 

 Islands and California, he procured specimens which were evidently migrating, is worthy of remark. 

 According to Schlegel, Ch. virginianus, Bp. (Pluvialis fulvus americanus, Sch.), is somewhat larger, and has 

 shorter toes ; but Schlegel also remarks that there are specimens in which it is very slight, indeed scarcely 

 perceptible." 



The series now before us represents specimens from the following localities : — 



Old Would. 



North-eastern Africa. We have in our collection a single specimen from Djedda, on the Red Sea, 

 obtained by the late Mr. S. Stafford Allen, who gave it to Dresser. It is without a great deal of golden on the 

 back, and the scapulars as well as the tail-feathers are notched on the outer webs, not barred or distinctly 

 spotted with golden. The upper part of the breast and sides of the body are smoky brown, and the sides of 

 the neck are specked with brown. This specimen seems to be in full winter plumage, and agrees very fairly 

 with the description above given. Total length 8 - 3 inches, culmen TO, wing 6'2, tail 2"4, tarsus l - 6, middle 

 toe to root of nail l - 05. 



Siberia. Mr. Harting's collection contains a specimen from Lake Baikal, shot there by Dr. Dybowski on 

 the 29th of November 1869. This bird is in curious plumage ; for it retains plentiful remains of the breeding- 

 plumage. The black on the head and scapulars is very deep, the golden spots very bright, the tail transversely 

 barred instead of being notched, and the remains of black are apparent on the chin, breast, flanks, and abdomen, 

 constituting a large patch in the centre of the latter, nor has the black colour wholly disappeared from the ear- 

 coverts. On most of the feathers of the under surface there is a dusky centre to the feather, which is the 

 remains of the black plumage before it is entirely lost ; and it is evident, therefore, that the bird changes into 

 its winter dress not by a direct moult, but by a gradual change of the black plumes into white ones ; this ought 

 to be a good test for distinguishing old birds in autumn from young birds of the year, which could not have 

 had any black breast wherewith to cause the mottled appearance which comes from the remains of the summer 

 dress in the adults. Total length 8 - 3 inches, culmen - 95, wing 6*25, tail 2 - 5, tarsus 155, middle toe, without 

 nail, 0-95. 



India. A female specimen, with no precise indication of locality, in Mr. Harting's collection has lost 

 nearly every trace of summer plumage, with the exception of two black feathers on the breast and some 

 indistinct mottlings on the sides of the body and under tail-coverts ; the cheeks and sides of the neck are, as 

 usual, mesially mottled with brown. Total length 9 inches, culmen TO, wing 6'25, tail 2 - 25, tarsus 155, 

 middle toe P05. Three other specimens are in Mr. Harting's possession, from the Indian Peninsula, given to 

 him by Mr. Blyth. One, a male, is in complete winter dress, being buff all over the face and smoky brown on 

 the breast, the back brownish black, the feathers margined with golden. Total length 8 inches, culmen 095, 

 wing 6"25, tail 2"2, tarsus 1-55, middle toe 1"0. The two other examples, brought home by Mr. Blyth, are in 

 changing plumage, one having still considerable remnants of the black dress, the other being nearly in com- 

 plete winter livery. Total length 8 - 3-8'5 inches, culmen - 95-l - 0, wing 6'15-6'65, tail 2"25-2'4, tarsus 

 1"55-1"6, middle toe 1*0. One of these birds, it will be seen, has a very long wing and tarsus. 



Ceylon. Mr. Holdsworth has very kindly lent us three specimens obtained by him at different times of 

 the year during his sojourn in this island. A female, shot at Aripo on the 8th of December 1869, has still 

 some tokens of its summer dress in the shape of the brown mottlings on the breast, and it has moulted all its 

 quill- feathers, except the longest primaries, which are shooting; no sign, however, of the moult by which the 



