78 



WILSON^S PLOVER 



there. Their favorite places of resort appear to be the dry sand 

 flats on the sea shore. They utter an agreeable piping note. 



This species is seven inches and three quarters in length, and 

 fifteen and a half in extent ; the bill is black, stout, and an inch 

 long, the upper mandible projecting considerably over the lower; 

 front white passing on each side to the middle of the eye above, 

 and bounded by a band of black of equal breadth; lores black; 

 _ eyelids white ; eye large and dark ; from the middle of the eye 

 backwards the stripe of white becomes duller, and extends for half 

 an inch; the crown, hind head and auriculars are drab olive; the 

 chin, throat and sides of the neck for an inch pure white, passing 

 quite round the neck, and narrowing to a point behind ; the up- 

 per breast below this is marked with a broad band of jet black ; 

 the rest of the lower parts pure white; upper parts pale olive drab; 

 along the edges of the auriculars and hind head, the plumage, 

 where it joins the white, is stained with raw terra sienna ; all the 

 plumage is darkest in the centre and darker shafted ; the tertials 

 are fully longer than the primaries, the latter brownish black, the 

 shafts and edges of some of the middle ones white ; secondaries 

 and greater coverts slightly tipped with white ; the legs are of a 

 pale flesh color ; toes bordered with a narrow edge, the outer and 

 middle ones connected as far as the first joint by a membrane ; 

 claws and ends of the toes black ; the tail is even, a very little 

 longer than the wings, and of a blackish olive color, with the ex- 

 ception of the two exterior feathers which are whitish, but gene- 

 rally the two middle ones only are seen. 



The female differs in having no black on the forehead, lores, 

 or breast, those parts being pale olive. 



