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RINGED PLOVER. 
The Ringed Plover is very abundant on the low sandy 
shores of our whole sea-coast during summer. They run, or 
rather seem to glide, rapidly along the surface of the flat 
sands, frequently spreading out their wings and tail like a fan, 
and fluttering along, to draw or entice one away from their 
nests. These are formed with little art, being merely shallow 
concavities dug in the sand, in which the eggs are laid, and, 
during the day at least, left to the influence of the sun to 
hatch them. The parents, however, always remain near the 
spot to protect them from injury, and probably, in cold, rainy, 
or stormy weather, to shelter them with their bodies. The 
eggs are three, sometimes four, large for the bird, of a dun 
clay colour, and marked with numerous small spots of reddish 
purple. 
The voice of these little birds, as they move along the sand, 
is soft and musical, consisting of a single plaintive note occa- 
sionally repeated. As you approach near their nests, they 
seem to court your attention, and, the moment they think you 
observe them, they spread out their wings and tail, dragging 
themselves along, and imitating the squeaking of young birds ; 
if you turn from them, they immediately resume their proper 
posture, until they have again caught your eye, when they 
display the same attempts at deception as before. A flat, dry, 
sandy beach, just beyond the reach of the summer tides, is 
their favourite place for breeding. 
This species is subject to great variety of change in its 
plumage. In the month of July, I found most of those that 
were breeding on Summers’s Beach, at the mouth of Great 
Egg Harbour, such as I have here figured; but, about the 
beginning or middle of October, they had become much 
darker above, and their plumage otherwise varied. They 
were then collected in flocks ; their former theatrical and 
deceptive manoeuvres seemed all forgotten. They appeared 
more active than before, as well as more silent, alighting within 
a short distance of one, and feeding about without the least 
appearance of suspicion. At the commencement of winter, 
they all go off towards the south. 
