THE CASPIAN PLOVER. 515 



CHARADRIUS ASIATICUS 



372. Charadrius asiaticus asiaticus Pall. — THE CASPIAN 

 PLOVER. 



Charadrius asiaticus Pallas, Reise d. versch. Prov. d. Pvuss. Reichs, 



ii, p. 715 (1773— S. Tartary). 



JEgialitis asiatica (Pallas), Saunders, p. 537. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Fore-head cream 

 or light buff ; crown sepia, feathers edged sandy-buff ; nape, 

 mantle, scapulars, back and rump buff-brown, feathers edged 

 sandy-buff ; upper tail-coverts pale buff-brown tipped creamy- 

 buff ; line below eye and ear-coverts sepia ; lores, eye-stripe and 

 sides of neck cream-buff ; chin and throat cream-white ; pectoral 

 band light drab, feathers broadly tipped cream -white or buff ; 

 remaining under -parts white ; under wing-coverts with light drab 

 bases ; tail-feathers buff-brown, outer feathers paler and broadly 

 tipped white, outer pair narrowly bordered white on outer web ; 

 primaries sepia or black-brown, shafts more or less white, inner 

 primaries with some white on outer webs near base ; secondaries 

 sepia, inner webs paler and tipped white ; innermost secondaries 

 as mantle ; primary-coverts dark sepia, inner ones faintly tipped 

 white ; rest of wing-coverts buff-brown edged sandy-buff, fainter 

 on lesser coverts. This plumage is acquired by complete moult in 

 autumn. Summer. — The body-feathers (not all scapulars), appar- 

 ently sometimes tail-feathers, sometimes some innermost second- 

 aries and coverts, some median and lesser coverts are moulted 

 Dec. to May, but not rest of wings. Fore-head white ; remaining 

 upper -parts as winter ; eye-stripe, lores, cheeks, chin and throat 

 white ; ear-coverts and narrow line below and in front of eye 

 dusky ; breast auburn merging into a black band which divides it 

 from white belly ; remaining under -parts as winter ; tail and wings 

 as winter (wing-coverts much abraded except for scattered new 

 coverts which are as winter). 



Nestling. — (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. — Fore-head huffish-white ; crown, nape, mantle, 

 scapulars, back and rump olive -brown (lighter on nape), feathers 

 tipped creamy and sandy-buff ; upper tail-coverts as adult ; eye- 

 stripe, cheeks, chin, throat and sides of neck warm or cream-buff ; 

 ear-coverts dusky ; remaining under -parts and tail as adult ; 

 wing as adult but innermost secondaries and all wing-coverts, 

 except greater, buff -brown edged cream. 



First winter. — As adult but distinguished by worn cream 

 edges (least abraded on innermost median coverts) of retained 

 juvenile wing-coverts. The juvenile body-plumage (not all scapulars 

 and apparently not feathers of back and rump), sometimes central 

 pair of tail-feathers, sometimes some innermost secondaries and 

 coverts, some median and lesser coverts are moulted in autumn, 

 but apparently not rest of tail or wings. First summer. — Moult 

 as adult after which becomes like adult but may sometimes be 



