BRITISH BIRDS 



The plaintive call-note differs from that of the Golden Plover. Although the 

 winter plumage of both species has some resemblance, the birds may easily be dis- 

 tinguished by the larger size of the Grey Plover, its longer and heavier bill, and the 

 presence of a small hind-toe, which is absent in the Golden Plover, and also by 

 the black axillaries, seen under the wing in the second figure in the plate. Their 

 habits in general, and also their food, are much alike, although in our country the 

 Grey Plover is seldom met with away from the coast, while the other frequently 

 occurs inland. 



THE SOCIABLE PLOVER. 



Vanellus gregarius (Pallas). 

 Plate 63. 



About the year i860 a specimen of this rare Plover, accompanying a flock of 

 Peewits, was shot in the neighbourhood of St. Michael's-on-Wyre, Lancashire, but 

 was not identified till many years later. Another was obtained at Meath in August 

 1899, six in Kent, May 1907, and four near Winchelsea, Sussex, in May 1910. 



A rare straggler to Central and Southern Europe, this species breeds in Southern 

 and South-eastern Russia, eastwards through Western Siberia and Turkestan to 

 Mongolia, migrating in winter to North-eastern Africa, Arabia, North-western 

 India, and Ceylon. 



Regarding the habits of the Sociable Plover, von Heuglin, as quoted in Dresser's 

 Birds of Europe, writes (Orn. N.O. Afr. p. 997), " During autumn and winter it 

 regularly visits the localities we explored ; it appears in Egypt early in October, and 

 migrates southwards to the savannas of Kordofan, Takah, and Senaar, usually in 

 flocks of from five to fifteen individuals, each flock keeping close together ; and 

 generally they are extremely shy. I observed it during the month of December in 

 places where the plains had been burnt, and in sandy places around Rahad and 

 Atbara. It appears seldom to settle on the ground, but is usually seen flying swiftly 

 near the ground over the plains, now and again crossing the caravan roads ; and I 

 succeeded in shooting several from horseback as they crossed the road ; for I could 

 not otherwise get within range. Sometimes we heard it utter a shrill, short whistle; 

 but otherwise it uttered no sound." 



It resembles the Peewit in its habits, making its nest, a mere hollow lined with 

 bents, among the steppes. The four eggs are somewhat paler in colour than those 

 of the last-mentioned bird, and less boldly marked. 



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