522 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



spotted irregularly with black-brown and umber on creamy 

 ground. Average of 22 eggs, 33.9x23.9. Max. : 36.2x24.3 and 

 35.5x25.5. Min. : 31.4x22.7 mm. Breeding -season. — June and 

 July. 



Food. — Insects, small Crustacea and small mollusca, but exact 

 details wanting. 



Distribution. — England. — One. Female, Rye (Sussex), April 8th, 

 1916 (ut supra). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds in N. America from Cumberland 

 Sound and Melville Island to Upper Yukon, south Mackenzie, 

 Keewatin, Gulf of St. Lawrence and Nova Scotia. Winters from 

 S. California, Louisiana and S. Carolina throughout S. America to 

 Galapagos Is., Chile and Patagonia, probably also in Tchuktchi 

 Peninsula. Casual Greenland and Bermuda. 



CHARADRIUS DUBIUS 



375. Charadrius dubius curonicus Gm.— THE LITTLE RINGED 

 PLOVER. 



Charadrius curonicus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, ii, p. 692 (1789-" Habitat 

 in Curonia," i.e. Kurland. Cf. Ibis 1915 and Hartert, Vog. pal. Fauna, 

 p. 1535). 



Charadrius minor MacGillivray, Man. Brit. B., n, p. 53 (1840). 

 Mgialitis curonica (Gmelin), Yarrell, in, p. 262 ; Saunders, p. 541. 

 Charadrius dubius Scop., Hand -List. (1912), p. 167. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Narrow line on 

 fore-head and broad band on fore-part of crown black, divided by 

 a broad band of white ; lores, band under eye, ear-coverts and 

 narrow line over eye black ; above latter a very narrow white line 

 which joins black band on fore-head and is sometimes continued 

 across fore-head ; crown drab-brown ; nuchal collar white suc- 

 ceeded by a black one which joins pectoral band ; mantle and 

 scapulars drab-brown, feathers faintly edged sandy ; back, rump 

 and upper tail-coverts ash-brown ; sides of back, rump and lateral 

 tail-coverts white ; chin, throat and sides of neck white ; pectoral 

 band black, some feathers edged white ; remaining under -parts 

 white ; central pair of tail-feathers sepia, two outermost pairs white 

 marked sepia, remainder sepia broadly tipped white and indis- 

 tinctly banded subterminally black-brown as are central pair ; 

 primaries sepia (no white on webs), second with a white shaft other- 

 wise shafts brown ; secondaries ash-brown, paler on inner webs and 

 tipped white, innermost secondaries drab-brown faintly edged 

 white ; primary-coverts sepia edged white ; greater-coverts ash- 

 brown narrowly tipped white ; median and lesser coverts drab- 

 brown, narrowly edged white and buff. This plumage is acquired 

 by complete moult July to Nov. Summer. — The body-feathers (not 

 all scapulars), occasionally tail-feathers, some innermost second- 

 aries and coverts, usually some median and lesser coverts are 



