42 



BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER 



The greater number of those which I have examined have the ru- 

 diments of a hind toe; but the character and manners of the Plo- 

 ver are so conspicuous in the bird/ as to determine, at the first 

 glance, the tribe it belongs to. They continue about the sea coast 

 until early in November, when they move off to the south. 



This same bird, Mr. Pennant informs us, inhabits all the 

 north of Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and Hudson^s Bay, and all 

 the arctic part of Siberia. It is said, that at Hudson's Bay it is 

 called the Hawk's-eye, on account of its brilliancy. It appears, 

 says the same author, in Greenland in the spring, about the south- 

 ern lakes, and feeds on worms and berries of the heath. 



This species is twelve inches long, and twenty-four inches in 

 extent; the bill is thick, deeply grooved on the upper mandible, an 

 inch and a quarter in length, and of a black color ; the head and 

 globe of the eye are both remarkably large, the latter deep bluish 

 black; forehead white; crown and hind head black, spotted with 

 golden yellow; back and scapulars dusky, sprinkled with the same 

 golden or orange colored spots, mixed with others of white; breast, 

 belly and vent black; sides of the breast whitish; wing quills black, 

 middle of the shafts white ; greater coverts black, tipt with white ; 

 lining of the wing black; tail regularly barred with blackish and 

 pure white ; tail coverts pure white ; legs and feet a dusky lead 

 color ; the exterior toe joined to the middle by a broad membrane ; 

 hind toe very small. 



From the length of time which these birds take to acquire 

 their full colors, they are found in very various stages of plumage. 

 The breast and belly are at first white, gradually appear mottled 

 with black, and finally become totally black. The spots of orange, 

 or golden, on the crown, hind head and back, are at first white, 

 and sometimes even the breast itself is marked with these spots, 

 mingled among the black. In every stage the seemingly dispropor- 

 tionate size of the head, and thickness of the bill, will distinguish 

 this species. 



