THE BRITISH GOLDEN PLOVER. 531 



cheeks and sides of neck golden streaked dusky ; chin white ; 

 throat dusky -white, sometimes washed golden or drab and streaked 

 dusky ; breast drab -grey, feathers fringed golden ; sides of upper - 

 breast sepia notched and tipped golden ; flanks whitish, washed, 

 barred and shaded drab -grey and tipped golden ; belly and vent 

 white ; under tail-coverts white but long ones barred or marked 

 dusky-brown and golden ; axillaries white ; under wing-coverts 

 pale fawn ; tail-feathers sepia or black-brown barred and tipped 

 golden, bars paler on outer tail-feathers and often incomplete ; 

 primaries sepia with faint white tips, inner webs paler shading at 

 base almost to white, most pronounced on inner primaries ; second- 

 aries sepia with white bases, innermost as mantle ; primary-coverts 

 sepia, tipped white ; rest of wing-coverts black-brown or sepia 

 notched and edged golden. This plumage is acquired by complete 

 moult July to Nov. Summer. Male. — The body-feathers (not all 

 scapulars), occasionally central pair or an odd tail-feather, some 

 innermost secondaries and coverts, some median and lesser coverts 

 are moulted Feb. to May but not rest of tail-feathers or wings ; 

 sometimes some winter body-feathers are retained. Coloration of 

 upper-parts as winter but fore-head, lores and eye-stripe white 

 more or less washed golden (sometimes spotted dusky-brown) ; 

 sometimes a black-brown band at base of upper mandible faintly 

 indicated ; ear-coverts and cheeks black-brown or dusky-brown, 

 feathers with white bases imperfectly concealed and tinged golden, 

 sometimes streaked and spotted dusky-brown and more or less 

 washed golden ; sides of neck golden, barred and spotted black- 

 brown (sometimes an ill-defined yellowish -white streak continued 

 from eye-stripe down sides of neck to upper-breast) ; white patch 

 at sides of upper -breast more or less plentifully intermixed with 

 golden feathers spotted and marked sepia, extreme sides of upper- 

 breast as sides of neck ; feathers of sides of body and flanks golden, 

 some more or less white spotted and barred sepia, flanks more or 

 less intermixed with black ; chin white, sometimes intermixed 

 blackish ; throat, breast and belly black or black-brown more or 

 less intermixed with white and golden feathers spotted sepia ; vent 

 more or less white intermixed with golden feathers and an odd black 

 feather ; lateral and long under tail-coverts golden barred dusky- 

 brown ; rest of plumage as winter. Female. — As male but no 

 indication of yellowish -white streak down side of neck and no white 

 patch at sides of upper-breast in birds examined ; feathers of sides 

 of neck and upper-breast sepia notched and tipped golden (some- 

 times intermixed with feathers tipped whitish) ; under -parts 

 plentifully intermixed with white and golden feathers marked sepia. 

 Nestling (Plate 9). — Fore-head and irregular streak (often ill- 

 defined) at side of crown yellowish -white ; crown greenish or 

 yellowish-golden irregularly mottled black ; nape dusky-black, 

 down tipped yellowish -white or white ; rest of upper -parts, sides 

 of body and back of thighs as crown ; back in some with small 

 yellowish-white tufts ; tip of wing ashy-white ; eye-stripe and 



