LESSER MASKED PLOVER. 
facial wattles larger than in L. lohatus and extending over and behind the eye ; 
“ Bill yellow, tip brown ; iris yellow ; lapels and spurs yellow ; tarsi and feet 
purple red ; lower end of tibia pink ” (J. P. Rogers). Total length 377 mm. ; 
culmen 35, wing 228, tail 95, tarsus 74. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male. 
Nest. A depression in the ground. 
Eggs. Clutch, four (J. P. Rogers). “ Clutch two, of a yellowish-stone ground colour, 
slightly tinged with olive, with freckles, spots, and larger irregular shaped markings 
of olive-brown and blackish-brown distributed over the entire surface of the shell, 
together with a few superimposed spots of dull bluish-black. Axis 41-42 mm. ; 
diameter 33.” (North.) 
Breeding-season. August to October (Ramsay), March (North — North-west Australia), 
April (Kilgour — Ord River, North-west Australia), January (Rogers — ^Parry’s 
Creek, North-west Australia). 
My collector, Mr. J. P. Rogers, sends me the following notes from near 
Wyndham, North-west Australia : “ Before the 25th of November, 1908, 
these birds were in pairs or single, bxit very few of them were seen. The rain 
on the 22nd and isolated storms made them more plentiful, so that they were 
seen in flocks of from 20 to 30 birds. By the end of November they had 
increased greatly and were seen everywhere. On the 15th of December they 
mated and split up in pairs. On the 14th of January a nest was found con- 
taining two eggs, and two shells out of which the chicks had hatched, although 
the membrane of the shell was quite soft ; the chicks could not be found. The 
young in the other two eggs could be heard chirping. The nest was simply 
a hollow under a bunch of grass, and had a little dry grass in the bottom. 
Both birds were seen at the nest. On the 1st of May, 1909, they were still 
very plentiful. 
“On the 17th May, 1911, a few of these birds were seen at Lallaka, a 
large swamp on the south side of the Eitzroy River, 40 miles from Derby. 
xn. XXX were xx^xtice^l on the River. They usually leave the district about 
Derby in April and May, but some remain all the year.” ^ 
The same observer saw the species again on Melville Island on 
October 11th, 1911 ; on December 1st a pair were seen at Cooper’s Camp ; 
on the 30th of the same month another pair were observed ten miles south- 
east of Snake Bay ; on February 3rd, 1912, they were heard passing. 
The bird figured and described was collected at Parry’s Creek, North- 
west Australia, by Mr. J. P. Rogers, on February 16th, 1909. 
Under the name of “ Le Vanneau arme de la Louisiane,” this species 
was first described by Brisson {Ornith., Vol. V., p. 114, 1760) on the assumption 
that the bird came from Louisiana. In the Plan. Enl., pi. 835, a coloured 
figure was given, and to this plate Boddaert {Tahl. Plan. Enl, 1783, p. 51) 
gave the Latin name Tringa miles. Gmelin {Syst. Nat., p. 706, 1789) proposed 
53 
