P L O 
and coverts of the wings, are black, beautlfuliy 
fpotted on each fide with light yellowifh green ; 
the breafi: is brown, marked with greenifn oblong 
ftrokes; the belly is white; the central feathers of 
the tail are barred with black and yellowiilTi green, 
the red with black and brown; and the legs are 
black. Flowever, there are fome varieties in 
thefe birds; but thefc have not been fufficiently 
obferved to diftinguifn the age or fex. 
The female lays four eggs, fliarply pointed at 
the leffcr end, of a dirty v/hite colour, and irregu- 
larly marked, efpecially at the thicker end, with 
black blotches or fpots. It breeds on unfre- 
quented mountains; and is very common in the 
Hebrides. 
This bird makes a (hrill whirling noife ; and 
may be enticed within fliot by a ficilful imitator 
of it's note. 
Some naturalifts have fuppofed this fpecies to 
be the Pardalis of Ariftotle, on account of it's 
fpots; but that author makes no micntion of thofe 
generic diftinftions, fo as to enable us to decide 
on the propriety of this opinion. The Romans 
feem to have been unacquainted with the Plover, 
as the name does not once occur in any of their 
writings. 
Plover, I_.ong-Legged ; the Charadrius Hi- 
mantopus of Linnxus. This is one of the moft 
Angular birds that frequent the Britifla iflands. 
The legs are of a length and flendernefs ex- 
tremely difproportioned to the body; and this, 
added to a defedl in the back toe, muft neceflarily 
fender it's paces aukward and infirm. The naked 
•part of the thigh is three inches and a half long; 
and the legs are four and a half: thefe and the 
feet are of a blood-red colour. The entire length 
of the bird is thirteen inches; and the expanfion 
of it's wings is twenty-nine. The forehead, and 
the whole under fide of the body, are white; the 
crown of the head, the back and the wings, are 
black; on the hind part of the neck there are a 
few black fpots ; and the tail is of agreyifli white 
colour. 
This fpecies is by no means common in Bri- 
tain : Sir Robert Sibbald mentions two which 
were fhot in Scotland ; and a few years fince ano- 
ther was Ihot at Stanton Harcourt, near Oxford. 
Plover, Black-Breasted Indian. This 
bird is fomewhat larger than the lapwing: the 
bill is of a moderate length, blackilh, and pointed ; 
the feathers on the crown of the head are black 
with a green glofs, forming a creft about an inch 
long ; the cheeks, the hinder part of the head, and 
two broad lines down each fide of the neck, are 
white; the lower part of the neck behind, and the 
whole back and coverts of the wings, are brown ; 
the greater quills are black ; the Icfier next the 
back are brown ; and the ridge of the wing is 
adorned with black and v/hite feathers. The 
breau, and part of the beily, are black, with a 
fine purplilh glofs on the former ; the thighs, the 
lov/er belly, and the coverts under th'e tail, are 
white ; the tail-feathers are of equal lengths, white 
at their bottoms, and black acrofs their ends ; and 
the legs, feet, and claws, are of a dirty black 
brown hue. 
Plover, Spotted American. This fpecies 
is about the fame fize, make, and proportion, as 
the golden Plover; and has a black bill, bending 
a little towards the point. The forehead is white 
almoft to the bill, and parted from it by a line of 
black feathers. A white line paffes on each fide 
POD 
above the eye, and then down on each fide of the 
neck ; which unite before like a collar, parting 
the neck and the breaft. The under fide of the 
head and throat above it are white ; and the top 
of the head, the hinder part of the neck, the back, 
rump, and covert-feathers of the wings, are of a 
dark brown colour, beautifully fpotted with a 
bright orange yellow. The greater quills of the 
wings are of a dufl<y black; and the quills next 
the back and tail-feathers are variegated tranf- 
verfely with black and brown. The whole un- 
der fide is of a deep black hue, except a few white 
fpots on the covert-feathers under the tail. There 
are only three toes, which all ftand forward; and 
the legs and feet are black. 
Plover, Chattering, of Catesbv. This 
bird, which the inhabitants of Virginia call the 
kill-deer, is about the fize of the fnipe; and has 
large eyes, furrounded with a red circle. The 
fore-part of the head is white, the top black, and 
the hinder part brown. A black fi:realc runs from 
the bafe of the bill under the eye, to the back 
part of the head on each fide; a large black ring 
furrounds the neck; and the breafi: and belly are 
white; but the breafi: is traverfed with a black 
fi:reak, running from one wing to the other. The 
back and wings are brown ; the coverts of the 
tail are of a reddifii yellow colour; and the re- 
mainder, together with the legs, are black. There 
is no heel; and the thighs are naked. 
Plover, Norfolk, or Greater. See Stone- 
Curlew. 
Plover, Ringed. See Sea-Lark. 
Plover, Stone. See Godwit. 
POCHARD; the Anas Ferina of Linnjeus. 
A bird of the duck kind, about nineteen inches 
long, and thirty inches in breadth. The bill is 
of a deep lead colour; the head and neck are of a 
bright bay; the breafi:, and part of the back, are 
black; the coverts of the wings, the fcapulars, the 
back, and fides under the wings, are pale grey, 
elegantly marked with narrow lines of black ; and 
the quill-feathers are duficy. The belly is cine- 
reous and brown; the tail is compofed of twelve 
fiiort feathers of a deep grey colour; the legs are 
lead-coloured; and the irides are a bright yellow^; 
tinged with red. 
The female diff'ers confiderably from the malei 
her head is of a pale reddifii brown hue; her breafi: 
is of a deeper colour than that of the male; the 
coverts of her wings are of a pale afii; and her 
belly is cinereous. 
Thefe birds frequent both frefli and fait wa- 
ters. Their fiefii, which is extremely delicate, h 
much prized in the London markets, where they 
are generally known by the appellation of dun- 
birds. 
POD ARIA. A clafiical appellation for fuch 
infefls as have limbs, but no wings. See Ap- 
tera. 
The Podaria clafs comprehends two fubdivi- 
fions: fuch aptera Podaria as have oblong bodies 
with numerous legs or more than fix pair, of 
which kind are the julus, or gally-worm ; the fco- 
lopendra, or centipes ; and the onifcus, or wood- 
loufe: and, fecondly, fuch aptera Podaria as have 
fhorter bodies, and fewer legs than fix. This 
lafl: fubdivifion contains numerous genera; as the 
pulex, the puceron, the pediculi, the monoculi, 
the acari, the aranei, the fcorpio, and inany 
others. 
PODICEPS. An appellation by which fome 
ornithologifizs 
