WILSON'S PLOVER. 
361 
had been suffering all the discomforts attendant upon such a rough passage; then, too, I 
had just left a frozen, snow-covered land, over which the chilly north winds were sweep¬ 
ing: now I was greeted by soft airs from the balmy South, the merry chirp of insects rang 
in my ears, while the full moon, newly risen, illumined a scene which I then looked upon 
for the first time. I wandered off across the town and as I was passing a strip of low land, 
I was almost startled by hearing loud screams, and at the same moment, two or three birds 
started up, almost at my feet and, continuing their cries, circled around my head. I could 
make out their form quite clearly in the brilliant moonlight and, although it was the first 
time that I had ever seen them living, I recognized the Kildeer Plover. The ease with 
which they flew at night somewhat surprised me, but I afterward found that they are part¬ 
ly nocturnal and I have many times since then, been awakened in the darkness by their 
shrill notes. 
The Killdeer Plovers are very common in the Carolinas during winter, not only fre¬ 
quenting the shores but also haunting moist places in the interior, and I have often seen 
them in the streets of the villages, where they are very unsuspicious. Southward their 
numbers increase and on the marshes of the St. John’s River, I found them in immense 
flocks. They are noisy birds when on the wing but while running on the ground, utter a 
plaintive cry. As they are not at all shy where they are not much hunted, they may be 
approached quite closely, when they will merely run away, but if pursued, they will often 
squat, lying quite flat, in order to conceal themselves; then, if approached very closely, 
they will rise suddenly, with loud, shrill screams which they reiterate until they alight. 
Thus they often prove a nuisance when one is trying to obtain a shot at some shyer bird, 
as the noise made by these restless Plovers, causes all other birds in the immediate vicini¬ 
ty to take wing. 
I found the Kildeers common on the Keys in winter but do not think any remain to 
breed, but they do nest on Indian River, depositing their eggs late in May, and in Penn¬ 
sylvania, they lay about the same time. As might be judged by the foregoing account, 
they are quite solicitous when their nests are approached and their out-cries often inform 
the collector that the eggs are near. These birds were very common throughout New Eng¬ 
land some years ago and although I have occasionally met with a straggler, they are quite 
rare here now, and but few remain to breed. 
-ZEGIALITIS WXLSONIUS. 
Wilson’s Plover. 
JEgialiiis Wilsonius Baird, Birds. N. A. 1858, 693. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Cd. Form, robust. Size, not large. Tertiaries not nearly reaching tips of wings. Tail, short and rounded. 
Sternum, stout, the outer marginal indentations, but slightly deeper than inner. Tongue, long, thin and horny, narrow¬ 
ing toward tip which is slightly rounded. 
Color. Adult male. Above, pale ashy-brown, becoming darker on tip of tail, the outer feathers of which are white, 
Wings, dark-brown, with line on inner web, central stripes on primaries, base of secondaries, and bar across greater coverts, 
white. Forehead and line over eye, white, above and below which is one of black Under parts, white, with a broad band 
of black across breast. 
Adull female. Quite similar to the above but the black markings of head and neck are replaced by some of brown. The 
winter male resembles the female. 
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