AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 17 



137. GOLDEN PLOVER. 



Charadrius pliivialis. 



This well-known bird, though decidedly less abun- 

 dant in the Nen valley now than some thirty years ago, 

 is still a pretty regular autumnal visitor to our water- 

 meadows, and certain favourite spots on our cultivated 

 uplands. I quote from my note-books some dates of 

 first appearance of the Golden Plover in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Lilford :— Sept. 18th, 1862, Sept. 24th, 

 1874, Oct. 29th, 1881, Oct. 16th, 1882, Oct. 5, 1883, 

 Oct. 2nd, 1884, Oct. 8th, 1886. An old gamekeeper 

 positively assured me many years ago that he once 

 found six of these birds on an upland pasture near 

 Aldwincle in the latter end of June, and I have 

 no reason to doubt the truth of his statement ; but 

 this is the only instance that has come to my know- 

 ledge of the occurrence of this species in North- 

 amptonshire during the summer. 



The breeding-haunts of the Golden Plover in our 

 Islands are almost exclusively confined to moors and 

 mosses, for the most part at a considerable elevation, 

 and in such localities some of these birds may be 

 found in summer throughout the three kingdoms. 

 I found three or four Golden Plovers, who from 

 their actions evidently had unfledged young hard by, 

 about Cranmere Pool on Dartmoor in the month of 

 July 1856, and I have often met with large numbers 

 of these birds in August on the mountains of Perth 

 and Inverness -shire, also a few on the high moors of 

 Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Glamorganshire, and Meri- 

 oneth, at the same season. I have never found the 

 eggs of this bird in situ, but have often come across 



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