158 
PRiECOCIAL GRALLATORES — LIMICOLiE. 
The four adult examples before us differ very considerably from each other in some points of 
coloration. A Greenland specimen and two skins from the American shore of Cumberland Gulf 
have the black jugular collar extending upward over the lower part of the throat, forming there 
quite a prominent angle, while in a European specimen the anterior border of this jugular collar 
forms a straight transverse line ; in the latter, on the other hand, the posterior edge of the jugular 
collar is irregular- — decidedly concave in the middle, and convex laterally — while in the Amer- 
ican specimens it runs nearly straight across. Whether these differences between the birds of this 
species from North America and Europe are constant, can only be determined by the examination 
of more extensive material. 
Of the American skins, two adult males collected at the same place and on the same day (head 
of Cumberland Gulf, June 25, 1878, L. Ivumlien) differ remarkably from one another in the 
width of the white frontal band. In No. 76132 this measures only one tenth of an inch in 
breadth, while in No. 76133 it is three times as wide ! ; there is a nearly corresponding difference, 
however, in the extent of the black on the crown, this measuring in the two specimens, respec- 
tively, .40 and .30 of an inch. 
The present bird, so well known as the Ring Plover of Europe, and until quite 
recently supposed to have no other claim to a place in our fauna than its rather 
common presence in Greenland, must now be fully admitted to be a North American 
species, on other and quite indisputable grounds. An undoubted specimen of it has 
been taken at Great Slave Lake, and it has since been found breeding within our 
borders. Professor Newton states that it breeds generally throughout Greenland, 
and that it is found on Sabine and Clavering islands. It is also said to be abundant 
on the shores of Possession Bay and Regent’s Inlet, and was found by Professor 
Jorell on the Seven Islands (lat. 80° 45' N.) — at that time the highest northern range 
of any shore-bird. More recently its claim to be acknowledged as North Ameri- 
can, as well as High- Arctic, has been confirmed by Mr. Feilden, of the British Arctic 
Expedition of 1875-76, and by Mr. Ivumlien. The former states (Ibis, October, 
1877) that a single example of this species was observed in Smith’s Sound, where 
it was obtained, Aug. 4, 1875, on the beach bordering the Valley of the Twin Glacier, 
in Buchanan Strait (lat. 78° 48' N.). It was seen threading its way among the stones 
and stranded blocks of ice near the water’s edge, and was evidently nesting in the 
neighborhood, as it was a female, and the feathers of the under parts were worn off 
by incubation. Mr. Ivumlien also informs us that this species is apparently more 
common than even the seviipalmata in Cumberland. It arrives there about the 
middle of June, and breeds in the same localities as that species. It is also very 
common about Disco Island, Greenland, where he procured young birds. 
