528 



A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK: OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



coasts of Kent and rarely Sussex. Very rare migrant along south 

 coast to Devon and Cornwall and up east coast to Yorks. (seven). 

 Very rare vagrant elsewhere, Teesmouth (Durham) one, May, 1904, 

 Marbury Mere (Cheshire) pair seen, April 29, 1908, Mansfield (Notts.) 

 one seen, April, 1904. Ireland. — Very rare vagrant. On four or 

 five occasions autumn and winter, latest 1852. 



Distribution. — Abroad — Breeds in Europe from south Sweden to 

 Mediterranean and north Africa to salt swamps in Sahara, Madeira, 

 Canary, Cape Verde Islands and Azores, east to Central Asia, S.E. 

 Siberia and Corea. Winters in Africa, India, Ceylon, Burmah to 

 Sunda Islands, south China and Japan. Replaced by allied forms 

 in China and Japan, America, and Ceylon. 



CHARADRIUS VOCIFERUS 



377. Charadrius vociferus L.— THE KILLDEER PLOVER. 



Char admus vocifertjs Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 150 (1758 — 

 America. Restricted typical locality : Carolina. Ex Catesby). 

 Mgialitis vocifera (Linnaeus), Yarrell, in, p. ix ; Saunders, p. 545. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Feathers at base 

 of upper mandible black-brown ; fore -head white ; fore -part of 

 crown from eye to eye black ; rest of crown and part of nape sepia, 

 feathers faintly edged tawny most pronounced bordering white 

 collar ; white collar suc- 

 ceeded by a black one, 

 separates crown from 

 mantle ; mantle and 

 scapulars sepia, feathers 

 mostly narrowly edged 

 tawny ; back, rump and 

 upper tail-coverts ochra- 

 ceous-tawny ; band from 

 crown above centre of 

 eye to nape white, fea- 

 thers bordering nape 

 more or less tawny ; a 

 brown band intermixed 

 with black extends below 

 eye from lores to ear- 

 coverts ; rest of neck, 

 chin and throat white ; 

 broad black pectoral 

 band is divided into 

 two unequal halves by 

 an irregular band of buff -tipped white feathers, feathers of 

 lower and narrower half of black band edged white ; sides ^ of 

 lower-breast sepia, feathers faintly edged tawny ; remaining 

 under -parts white ; lower under tail-coverts sometimes tinged 



Half the tail of the Killdeer Plover (Charadrius voeiferus). 



