SQUATAROLA HELVETICA. 
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Members of this order are distributed throughout the world. The form is peculiar; 
the legs and wings are long, the tail, short, the neck moderate, while the bill is either as 
short as the head or greatly lengthened, and straight, or curved up or down. The margi¬ 
nal indentations are usually four; rarely, however, only two occur. The furcula is not es¬ 
pecially well-curved, being, at least, twice as long, measured to the terminal expansion, 
as wide at base. The head and cheeks are well feathered to the bill. The eggs are usually 
placed on the ground, and the young are covered with down when hatched and run at 
birth. 
FAMILY I. CHARADRIDJE. THE PLOVERS. 
Bill, short , not longer than the head , rather cylindrical , and hard at tip. Hind toe , 
absent or rudimentary . Marginal indentations , four; inner , more than half as deep as outer. 
Keel , about equal in length to the width of the sternum. 
These birds are rather stout, with short, well-rounded bodies and quite stout legs. 
The head is large and the neck short. The stomach is quite muscular and the coeca is very 
well developed. The species are well distributed throughout the world. 
GENUS I. SQUATAROLA. THE FOUR-TOED PLOVERS. 
Gen. Ch. Bill.'put e thick, nearly as long as head which is very large. Tail, slightly rounded. Hind toe, present, 
but small. 
Members of this genus, in the adult stage, are black beneath and light above, banded with darker. Sexes quite sim¬ 
ilar. There is but one species within our limits. 
SQUATAROLA HELVETICA. 
Black-bellied Plover. 
Squatarola helvetica Cuv., R. A. 1817. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sr. Ch. Form, robust. Size, large. Sternum, stout. Tongue, long, thin, and narrow, fleshy at the tip which is 
pointed. 
Color. Adult in spring . Forehead to eyes and entire under parts, excepting under wing and tail coverts which" are 
white, black with a purplish luster. Above, excepting primaries which are brown streaked with white next the shafts, 
white, tinged with ashy on the sides of neck and rump, irregularly barred on all, excepting these parts, with dark-brown. 
Adult in winter. Dark-brown above, with every feather edged and spotted with white and yellowish-white. Be¬ 
neath, white, streaked on breast, sides, and flanks with black. Axillaries, also black. Feet, black. 
Young. Quite similar to the above but darker and the streakings below are more noticeable. Feet, greenish. Bill, 
black, iris, brown, in all stages. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
Readily known from all other Plovers by the black axillaries which are always present, and the rudimentary hind toe. 
Distributed in summer, throughout Arctic America, wintering in the South. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of specimens from Eastern America. Length, 11-35; stretch, 22 - 65; wing, 7-45; tail, 260; bill, 
1- 25; tarsus, P75. Longest specimen, 1175; greatest extent ofwing,24‘75; longest Wing, 8-00; tail, 3 - 00; bill, P40; tarsus, 
2- 00. Shortest specimen, 1P00; smallest extent of wing, 21*50; shortest wing, 6 90; tail, 2-10; bill, 1 - 10; tarsus, 155. 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Hggs, placed in a depression of the soil, four in number, rather pyriform inshape, brown ish-drab in color, spotted and 
blotched irregularly with large dark-brown markings which often become confluent. Dimensions, from 1-40x2-12 to 1’45 
x235. 
