476 
PLOVER GROUP. 
dotterels, and lapwings. While agreeing with the pratincoles and coursers in having 
the third and fourth toes connected by a web at the base, these short-billed birds 
of the subfamily Charadriince differ in that the nostrils are situated in a groove 
extending considerably in advance of the basal fourth of the beak. 
The Ringed The plovers of the genus PEgialitis and the two following genera 
Plovers. may be distinguished from all other forms by the peculiar shape of 
the beak, coupled with the circumstance that in the sharply-pointed wings the first 
quill is the longest. As regards the beak, this, after tapering regularly for about 
half its length, swells out suddenly both above and below near the tip. In this 
character these birds resemble the lapwings, from which they are distinguished, not 
only by a difference in the relative lengths of the quills of the wings, but likewise 
by the circumstance that the two central tail-feathers are of a uniform brown colour 
for more than two - thirds their 
length, without any white at their 
base, and also by the metatarsus 
being reticulated. Of jdovers in 
general, Mr. Seebohm writes that 
they inhabit almost every descrip¬ 
tion of country, “ from the bare 
mountain tops to the richly culti¬ 
vated lands, the open moors and 
commons, and the seashore. During 
the breeding-season they are more 
or less sociable, and in winter often 
congregate in large flocks. They 
run and walk with ease, and their 
flight is powerful, moderately quick, 
and well sustained. Their usual 
note is a loud and shrill whistle, 
often considerably modulated, during the pairing-season, into a not unmusical trill, 
uttered as the bird takes a short flight in the air, after the manner of the pipits.” 
All feed on insects, worms, molluscs, etc., and they nest either in some depression 
on the ground, or on shingle or sand; while their eggs, like those of lapwings, are 
generally four in number and of the well-known pear shape, with a ground-colour 
of some shade of buff, upon which are brownish black blotches and streaks and 
underlying markings of grey. The ringed plovers derive their name from the 
dark ring or gorget round the neck of the majority of the species, a white 
ring being also generally present above the dark one; but in one species this 
only forms a collar on the back of the neck, and in another both are wanting. 
Obviously, therefore, this dark ring (which is black in the breeding-dress of the 
males) will not serve to characterise the genus. According to Mr. Seebohm, the 
group may be best defined by the absence of the first toe, the dark transverse band 
near the end of the tail-feathers, and the white abdomen and axillaries; the two 
latter features serving to distinguish them from the three-toed dotterels, which also 
have a dark band across the tail. The beak is always much shorter than the head, 
and generally pale-coloured at the base; while the legs and feet are invariably of 
COMMON RINGED PLOVER. 
