THE SOCIABLE PLOVER. 543 



crown similarly spotted ; nape, mantle and scapulars olive-drab, 

 feathers broadly fringed ochraceous-buff ; lower scapulars light 

 drab ; sides of back and rump and upper tail-coverts white ; centre 

 of back and rump drab, feathers faintly edged warm buff ; patch 

 under eye white ; spot in front of eye and streak behind eye black ; 

 lores and cheeks light buff, narrowly streaked pale olive-brown ; 

 chin and throat white ; feathers of sides of neck washed palest 

 drab with broad buff fringes and more or less narrowly streaked 

 olive-brown ; fore-neck white suffused palest drab, sometimes 

 narrowly streaked olive -brown ; breast suffused palest drab, feathers 

 tipped white or light buff, some with V-shaped markings, shadings 

 or narrow streaks of olive -drab or olive -brown ; remaining under - 

 parts white ; tail-feathers white with broad subterminal black band 

 decreasing in width towards outer feathers, two outer pairs mostly 

 white ; primaries black, white at utmost base, inner ones usually 

 with white or pale drab bases extending towards tip of inner web 

 which is sometimes narrowly tipped white ; secondaries white, 

 inner ones washed pale drab on outer or both webs, innermost like 

 mantle ; primary-coverts black ; greater coverts pale drab, 

 broadly tipped white ; median and lesser coverts pale olive-drab, 

 tipped light or ochraceous-buff. This plumage is acquired by 

 complete moult July to Dec. N.B. — Buff edges on upper -parts and 

 to some extent black spots on crown are lost by abrasion. 



Adult male. Summer. — The body-feathers (not all scapulars), 

 occasionally central pair of tail-feathers, usually most innermost 

 secondaries and their coverts, but apparently not median nor lesser 

 coverts are moulted in spring ; sometimes some winter body-feathers 

 are retained. Fore-head and eye-stripes white, sometimes washed 

 light buff on nape ; crown black glossed deep blue ; nape, mantle 

 and scapulars light drab ; rest of upper -parts as winter ; lores black ; 

 a streak from posterior corner of eye below eye-stripe black ; ear- 

 coverts, cheeks and throat warm buff ; chin white ; sides of neck 

 light drab, feathers faintly tipped warm buff ; breast pale hair- 

 brown ; flanks white ; belly bluish-black ; vent chestnut inter- 

 spersed with white ; remaining under -parts as winter ; tail and 

 wing as winter, but innermost secondaries and coverts as mantle, 

 median and lesser coverts faded and except innermost with buff 

 edges worn. Female. — As male but sometimes duller, some birds 

 examined had belly hair -brown instead of black, others with belly 

 and vent white with only a few new black feathers on belly and new 

 chestnut ones on vent. N.B. — One (<£ May, S. Russia) with inner 

 primaries of both wings in quill. 



Nestling. — Resembling nestling V. vanellus but crown and 

 upper -parts mottled light buff and black instead of light drab and 

 black and without black pectoral gorget. Fore -head light buff ; a 

 median black-brown line from middle of fore -head to crown ; 

 crown mottled light buff and black ; nape white ; remaining upper- 

 parts mottled black and light buff, down with long tips of sooty- 

 brown and buff ; a black-brown band along wing, tip of wing white ; 



