CHARADRIUS XANTHOCHEILUS, Wagi. 
Australian Golden Plover. 
Charadrius xanthocheilus, Wagl. Syst. Av. Charadrius, sp. 36. — Jai’d. and Selb. 111. Orn., vol. ii. pi. 85. 
This species of Golden Plover, wdiich I have referred to the Charadrius coanthocheilus of Wagler, although 
nowhere very abundant, is generally dispersed over all the colonies from Van Diemen’s Land to the extreme 
north of the continent of Australia, and I saw a specimen in the Museum at Sydney which had been 
procured on Melville Island ; its range therefore is very extensive. I obtained several specimens on the 
banks of the Derwent in Van Diemen’s Land, observed it in small numbers on the flats below Clarence 
Plains, and also killed examples on one of the islands opposite Flinders’ Island. 
Its habits, manners, and general economy so closely resemble those of the Golden Plover (Charadrius 
plmialis) of Europe, that a description of one is equally characteristic of the other. Like that bird, it 
frequents open plains in the neighbourhood of marshy lands or the sea-beach, runs with amazing facility, 
and flies with equal rapidity. 
Indications of the future black colouring of the breast or breeding plumage begin to appear early in the 
spring, and as the season advances, every variety of colouring occurs from the mottled yellow of winter to 
the uniform black under-surface of summer, which latter state however is but seldom seen ; whence I am 
induced to doubt its remaining to breed in any of the southern parts of Australia. 
The full summer plumage is as follows : — The whole of the upper surface and tail very dark brown, each 
feather with a series of oblong yellowish and whitish spots along their margins ; primaries dark brown with 
white shafts ; lores, sides of the face, breast and all the under surface jet-black, bounded by a broad mark 
of white, which crosses the forehead, passes over the eye, down the side of the neck and along the flanks, 
where it beeomes broad and conspicuous ; under wing-coverts and the lengthened feathers covering the 
insertion of the wing uniform pale silvery brown ; irides dark brown ; bill dark olive ; legs and feet 
leaden-grey. 
In the winter season the black and white markings of the under surface entirely disappear, and are 
replaced hy a bufiy tint mottled with brown, the mottled appearance being produced by a triangular spot of 
pale brown at the tip of each feather. 
The Plate represents the bird in the summer and winter plumage, and of the natural size. 
