Crass. GOLDEN PLOVER. 
green ; the breast brown, marked with greenish 
oblong strokes; the belly white; the middle 
feathers of the tail barred with black and yel- 
lowish green; the rest with black and brown; 
the legs black: We have observed some variety 
in these birds, but cannot determine whether it 
is owing to age or sex; we have seen some 
with black bellies, others with a mixture of 
black and white; others with bluish legs, and 
some with a small claw in the place of the 
hind toe. 
They lay four eggs, sharply pointed at the 
lesser end, of a dirty white color, and irrécu- 
larly marked, especially at the thicker end, with 
black blotches and spots. They breed on 
several of our unfrequénted mountains; and 
are very common on those of the isle of Rwm, 
and others of the loftier Hebrides. ‘They make 
a shrill whistling noise; and may be enticed 
within shot by a skilful imitator of the note. 
This species, on account of its spots, has 
been supposed to have been the Pardalis of 
Aristotle: but his account of the bird makes 
no mention of that distinction: perhaps he 
thought that the name implied it. The Ro- 
mans seem to have been unacquainted with the 
plover: for the name never once occurs in any 
of their writings. We derive it from the French 
HZ 
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