ESACUS MAGNIROSTRIS. 
Larg-e-billed Plover. 
QLdicnermis magnirostris, Geoff. — Temm. PL Col. 387.— Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxiii. p. 251. — Ib. 
Ency. Meth. Orn., pai’t i. p. 339. pi. 234. fig. 1. 
Charadrius magnirostris, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. Ixvi. — Wagl. Syst. Avium, Charadrius, sp. 3. 
Burhinus magnirostris, Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. ii. p. 335. — Ib. Traite d’Orn., p. 547. 
Great-hilled Plover, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 319. — Ib. Gen. Hist , vol. ix. p. 341. 
CEdicnemus recurvirostris, Sv^^ains. 
Carvanaca grisea, Hodgs. 
Esacus magnirostris, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit. p. 83. 
Wee-lo, Aborigines of Port Essington. 
This fine species of Plover is tolerably abundant along the northern and north-western parts of Au- 
stralia, where it gives a preference to the low flat shores of the sea, on which every receding tide leaves 
crabs, marine insects, worms and various kinds of mollusks, which form its natural food ; hence we see a 
marked difference in the habits of this bird from those of the true (Edicnenii, with which it was formerly 
placed ; the latter being entirely confined to inland districts, such as open plains and grassy hills, while 
the Esacus magnirostris is exclusively confined to the sea-beach, and only retires inland at the breeding- 
season to deposit its eggs and rear its young on some grassy hill or plain, where its feeble offspring may 
obtain shelter until they are able to traverse the mud flats and shingly beach. At night it is said to utter a 
loud scream or cry, resembling the word IVee-lo, whence its aboriginal name : it is somewhat singular that 
the same name is applied to the (Edic7iemus grallai'ius by the natives of Western Australia, where the pre- 
sent bird has not as yet been seen ; the cry of the two birds being similar is doubtless the cause of their 
both being known to the natives of those distant parts of the country by the same appellation, as it is not 
unusual for them to name birds after the sound they utter. 
The sexes bear a general resemblance to each other, and the young of the first autumn is only distin- 
guished by its feathers being margined with grey. 
I have been favoured with an egg of this fine bird by Lieut. J. M. R. Ince, R.N., who obtained it at Port 
Essington, and as it was not procured by Mr. Gilbert or myself, it forms a valuable acquisition to my cabinet. 
Its ground-colour is cream-wbite, streaked and marked all over with dark olive-brown, some of the 
markings being large and bold witbout assuming any regular form, and others mere blotches about an 
eighth of an inch in diameter ; while many of the streaks are as fine as a hair, and are of a crooked or zig- 
zag form ; it is two inches and a half long by one ineb and three quarters broad ; judging from analogy, I 
may venture to assert that two are laid at a time. 
Above and below tbe eye a broad mark of white, which is continued down the side of the head, the eye 
and the white marks being surrounded by a large patch of dark blackish brown ; at the angle of the lower 
mandible is a small patch of hlackish brown ; throat and sides of the face dull white ; head and all the upper 
surface light hrown, the feathers of tbe head and neck with a narrow line of dark brown down the centre ; 
lesser wing-coverts dark brown, the last row crossed with white near the tip, forming a line along the wing ; 
remainder of the coverts grey, deepening into brown on the tertiaries ; first three primaries dark brown at 
the base and tip, and white in the centre, the remainder white stained with hrown near the tip ; tail grey, 
crossed with white near the tip, which is dark hrown ; fore-part of the neck like the head, but paler ; breast 
brownish grey ; abdomen and under tail-coverts bulfy white ; irides pale yellow^ ; eyelids primrose-yellow ; 
base of the bill sulphur-yellow, which colour is continued along the sides of the upper mandible above the 
nostrils ; remainder of the bill black ; tibiae lemon-yellow' ; tarsi and feet wine-yellow ; the upper ridge of 
the scales of the toes lead- colour. 
The young bird is similar, hut has the markings of the body less defined, the whole of the upper sur- 
face being mottled browui and grey. 
The Plate represents an adult male and a young bird of the year of the natural size. 
