170 
PRhECOCIAL GRALLATORES — LIMICOL^E. 
Mr. Salvin met with Wilson’s Plover on the coast of Honduras in the latter part 
of April. It was then breeding, and he discovered two of its nests. He also found 
that this species was very abundant at Chiapam, in Guatemala, where he met with it 
in flocks in the company of jE. semipalmata. It occurred also and remained to 
breed among the bays of Belize. It is also recorded from the northwestern coast of 
Peru. 
According to Leotaud, this Plover is a migratory visitant of the Island of Trinidad, 
arriving there about the end of July, and leaving in October. It frequents the bor- 
ders of the sea, running on the sand in quest of the worms on which it feeds. As it 
takes to flight it usually utters a peculiar cry, which is slightly rolling, and not un- 
pleasant. These birds occur sometimes by themselves, and sometimes mingled with 
Tringce and other shore-birds ; and Dr. Bryant found this an abundant resident 
species in the Bahamas. 
Giraucl mentioned this among the birds of Long Island, but as not common there. 
When observed it was usually in company with the semipalmata, with the general 
characteristics of which its own very closely correspond. Audubon states that while 
in Florida, near St. Augustine, in the months of December and January, he found 
this species much more abundant than any other. There were few of the keys 
having a sandy beach or a rocky shore without one or more pairs. The young birds 
assembled in the fall and spent the winter months apart from the old ones. 
Dr. Coues, who had an excellent opportunity for watching this species in North 
Carolina, has given (Am. Hat. III. 340) a full and minute account of its habits 
during the summer months. He regards it as eminently characteristic of the shores 
of the South Atlantic States. It moves northward along the coast in April, collecting 
in small flocks of from six to twenty or more, and passing at once to their chosen 
places, there to explore the sea-beaches and the muddy flats in search of food. They 
are gentle and unsuspicious. Their note is described as being half a whistle -and 
half a chirp, and as very different from the clear mellow piping of the other species. 
After a short interval following their first arrival, they separate in pairs and resort 
to the sand-hills near the coast to breed. When their nest is approached they flit 
to and fro, near the ground, at a little distance, in anxious groups of three or four, 
uttering indescribably touching appeals, now alighting, as if in hopes their trea- 
sures may remain undiscovered, and then running swiftly along, too frightened for a 
moment’s rest. 
Wilson’s Plover deposits its eggs in a hollow in the sand about four inches in 
diameter, but so shallow as to be hardly noticeable as a depression. Sometimes it 
lays its eggs in a scanty tuft of grass, but in no instance has it been noticed as using 
any lining for its nests. The number of eggs is said to be invariably three ; but that 
occasionally it may lay four is inferred from finding in the oviduct of a female just 
killed one egg ready for deposition, and three others in a highly developed state. It 
begins to lay about the middle of May, but differs as to the time so much that, early 
in June, eggs quite fresh, others nearly hatched, and newly fledged young, may all 
be observed. The nestlings are described as being curious-looking and very pretty. 
They are able to run as soon as they are fairly dry from the egg, and are difficult to 
find, as they squat so closely to the sand, which they resemble in color. 
Their eggs are somewhat like those of the Least Tern, but are larger, and in some 
other respects different. The variations of the eggs of the Plovers, both in size and 
shape, are considerable, one measuring 1.45 inches by 1.05, and another only 1.22 
inches by 1.00 ; they also differ very materially in shape from each other. Their 
ground-color when fresh is described as a pale olive-drab, inclining to a greenish hue 
