The American Golden Plover 



of alarm rather than of invitation. It is easy enough to reproduce, and 

 I have tried it on many flocks, but it seems always to make them im- 

 mediately apprehensive, as do their own renditions. Once a flock, which 

 had previously shown little uneasiness in my presence, took instant flight 

 when I sprung this "call" on them. The joke was on the birdman. 



No. 255 



American Golden Plover 



A. 0. U. No. 272. Pluvialis dominicus dominicus (Miiller). 



Synonyms. — Field Plover. Bull-head. 



Description. — Adult in summer: Above dusky, blackening on tips of feathers 

 on back and crown, lightening to fuscous on wing-coverts, tertials, sides of neck, etc.; 

 spotting sharply on back and crown, less distinctly on neck and upper tail-coverts, 

 with bright ochre-yellow; primaries blackish, the basal and a concealed distal portion 

 of each quill white; tail dusky, barred irregularly with lighter grayish brown; entire 

 underparts, except lining of wing, including sides of head, glossy brownish black; an 

 area of pure white continuous across forehead passes over the eyes, along the sides 

 of the neck, and expands on the sides of the breast, sometimes nearly meeting in front; 

 sides of breast, and connecting upper sides narrowly, behind the white, color and 

 pattern of back; axillars and lining of wings smoky gray or ashy. Bill and legs 

 black. Adult in winter: Usually less decidedly black on back; the spotting (streaking 

 on hind-neck) finer on upperparts; the ochre-yellow brightest on upper tail-coverts; 

 elsewhere more or less displaced by paler yellow and whitish; below without black; 

 throat and crissum dull white; elsewhere streaked and spotted with light brownish 

 gray, a lighter shade of the same vaguely diffused over the plumage, or else underparts 

 definitely brownish gray finely spotted with white. Immature: Like adult in winter, 

 but lighter below; only the breast tinged, and that uniformly, with light fuscous; 

 pattern of neck all around blended. Length 241.3-270.4 (9.50-1 1. 00) ; wing 173.5 

 (6.83); tail 65 (2.56); bill 22.6 (.89); tarsus 45 (1.77). 



Recognition Marks. — Killdeer size. "Golden" speckling of upperparts dis- 

 tinctive; somewhat smaller than preceding species; bill decidedly smaller; not so white 

 below in fall plumage; axillars brownish gray instead of sooty black. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in California. Nest: On the ground, with a scanty 

 lining of leaves and grass. Eggs: 4; olive-buff of various degrees of intensity, boldly 

 spotted and blotched with brownish black. Av. size 50.8 x 33.3 (2.00 x 1.31). 



General Range. — Breeds in the high North from Point Barrow in Alaska, east 

 to Hudson Bay. Winters on the open plains of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, etc. 

 Migrates in the fall by way of Labrador and the Atlantic Ocean route from New Bruns- 

 wick and Nova Scotia via Bermuda and the West Indies. Returns in the spring 

 via the Mississippi Valley. Casual or irregular elsewhere during migrations from 

 western Europe to the Pacific Coast of America. 



Occurrence in California. — Of rare occurrence during migrations; sporadically 

 abundant. Requires careful distinction from the foregoing species and from the 



I2g6 



