12 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



become comparatively scarce in England, not only on 

 account of its culinary excellence, but also for the 

 sake of its feathers, some of which are highly prized 

 for artificial fly making. 



The Dotterel is recorded as breeding in some 

 numbers on the mountains of Norway and Sweden, 

 in a few localities of Central Europe, and on the vast 

 moors of N.W. Asia. The female of this species is 

 larger and more brightly plumaged than the male, as 

 is the case with several species of birds besides the 

 majority of the Ba^tores, though probably less 

 generally known than in their' s. The eggs of this 

 species are very beautiful, but as I never had the 

 good luck to find or even to see an unblown specimen, 

 I must refer my readers to more fortunate ornitholo- 

 gists for a full description of them. 



The Dotterel visits Spain in spring and autumn 

 and occasionally winters in the plains of Andalucia. 



135. RINGED PLOVER. 



Charadrius hiaticula. 



This bird, which is also known as Ringed Dotterel, 

 Stonehatch, Sea-Lark, and, on some parts of our 

 coast, shares, with its frequent associate the Dunlin, 

 the name of Purre, is an uncommon and irregular 

 visitor to the Nen valley, in the neighbourhood of 

 Lilford ; most of its occurrences there have been in 

 April and May. Mr. J. Hensman, in a letter dated 

 February 22nd, 1876, informed me that there was 

 then a stuffed specimen of this species in the 

 Northampton Museum, killed in 1866, but gave no 

 particulars as to exact date or locality. 



