170 
British Birds. 
THE LITTLE 
RINGED 
SAND-PLOVER. 
(SEgialitis dubia.) 
the sand, and are four in number, placed point to point, as is the mode with all 
Plovers and Sandpipers. They very much resemble the stony surroundings amongst 
which they are placed, and are clay-coloured, with small black spots and lines, some- 
times forming blotches ; they measure an inch-and-a-quarter to an inch-and-a-half. 
This is a smaller bird than the Ringed Plover and resembles 
the latter species very closely, but can always be told by the 
white shaft, which is only seen on the first primary. The shafts 
of several of the quills are white in S. E . hiaticola. In the latter 
also the bill is orange with a black tip, whereas in JE. dubia 
the bill is black, with only the base of the lower mandible yellow. There is also a 
ring of yellow round the eye. 
The Little Ringed Plover has been captured in England half a dozen times, 
chiefly in the autumn. It is found throughout the whole of temperate Europe 
and Asia, and in winter visits Africa, India and the Malayan Archipelago. It is 
essentially an inland species, and is found on the shores of lakes and on sand-spits 
in the large rivers. The nest is a little cavity in the sand, and the eggs are four in 
number, smaller than those of the Common Ringed Plover, but similar in colour. 
They measure a little over an inch to an inch-and-a-quarter. 
This little species can be told by its rufous head, white 
forehead, and white collar round the hind-neck. There is no 
complete black ring on the fore-neck, but a black patch on each 
side of the latter. Young birds may be recognised by their 
black legs and by the white collar round the hind-neck. 
The Kentish Plover nests on the sea-shores in the south-east of England, and 
occurs in other parts of the United Kingdom during migration. It is found through- 
out Central and Southern Europe in suitable localities, and extends to Eastern Asia, 
wintering in Africa, India and Australia. The present species always looks a whiter 
bird in life than either of the Ringed Plovers, and the nestlings are decidedly lighter 
in colour than those of the last-named birds. The species is not gregarious in summer, 
but collects in flocks in the autumn. The eggs are laid on the shingly beach, 
and are three, more rarely four, in number. They are very similar to those of the 
Ringed Plover, but have the markings more distributed over the egg. Their length 
is about an inch-and-a-quarter, or a little more. 
This bird is often called the ‘Peewit’ from its note, or the 
‘ Green Plover ’ from the colour of its plumage. It has a 
remarkably long crest of upturned feathers, a black throat and 
neck, and the upper and under tail-coverts of a light cinnamon-colour. The young 
birds and the adults in winter plumage have sandy-buff edgings to the feathers 
of the upper surface. It is found everywhere throughout the British Islands, nesting 
on the moors and fallow-land, and frequenting the sea-shore in large flocks in winter. 
It inhabits the whole of Europe and Northern Asia. 
THE KENTISH 
SAND-PLOVER. 
(SEgialilis 
alcxandrina.) 
THE LAPWING. 
(V cmcllns vanellus.) 
