6 o 
WADING BIRDS. 
the 20th of May, or later, as they proceed to the North, they 
commence laying, the eggs, being about four, rather large, of 
a pale cream color, or nearly white, irregularly spotted and 
blotched nearly all over with blackish brown and many sub- 
dued tints of a much paler color. 
The cry of this species, uttered while running along the 
strand, is rather soft and musical, consisting chiefly of a single, 
varied, and repeated plaintive note. On approaching the 
breeding-spot, the birds wheel around in contracting circles, 
and become more clamorous, piping out, in a tone of alarm, 
'ke-bee^ and keeb, keeb, then falling off into a more feeble kie- 
boo, with occasionally a call of kib. At times, in the same sad 
and wild accent with the vociferous Lapwing, we hear a cry of 
kee-wee, and even the same pai-wee, pee-voo, and pai-voo. 
When in hurry and consternation, the cry resembled 'pit, 'pit, 
'pit, 'pt. Sometimes, in apparent artifice, for the defence of 
their tender brood, besides practising alarming gestures, they 
even squeak like young birds in distress. 
d'he food of this species is quite similar with that of the 
Semi-palmated Ring Plover ; indeed, the birds are scarcely to 
be distinguished but by the paleness of the plumage in the 
present species, and the shortness of the web between the 
exterior toes. They are usually fat, except in the breeding- 
season, and much esteemed as game. 
The Piping Plover is a common summer resident of New Eng- 
land and the Maritime Provinces, though rare in some localities on 
the Bay of Fundy. Mr. C. B. Cory found it abundant on the 
Magdalen Islands. 
Mr, Thompson thinks it a migrant near Toronto; but Mr. 
Saunders found it breeding at Point Pelee, on Lake Erie. 
Note. — The Belted Piping Plover {AH. meloda circn?n- 
cinetd) is a Western variety, restricted chiefly to the Missouri 
River region, though it has been occasionally seen on the Atlantic 
coast. It differs from true meloda in having “the black patches on 
the sides of the chest more or less completely coalesced ” instead 
of separated. 
1 The first syllable uttered with a guttural lisp. 
