21 
1921 .] Birds of North-East Chihli. 
locality I have clutches dated 12th and 30th April, 14th, 
15th, 18th, and 29th May, and June. May is, however, the 
month when eggs are most commonly found. While search¬ 
ing for eggs on the 2nd of May, 1915, I saw only empty nests. 
The birds were numerous that day and were noticed pursuing 
one another and calling loudly as they flew. The nests are 
merely depressions among the shingle and contain no lining, 
a few small pebbles only being found in them. The eggs 
are buff, rarely pale buff, and are marked all over with 
specks and short lines of very dark and light brown over 
underlying grey spots. A few eggs are, in addition, scantily 
marked with large spots of blackish brown. One egg out 
of a series of 39 has the ground-colour white with a tinge of 
grey. Another from the same series has a cap of uniform 
dull brown, overlaid with the usual markings, and the apical 
half has a coat of dark buff, only a ring of the true buff 
ground-colour showing between the two. The eggs are 
without gloss. The most general shape is a pvriform-ovate, 
but pyriform eggs are common, an ovate sometimes occurs, 
and the apex is often much pinched in. Thirty-nine eggs 
range from 1*25 in. to 1*10 in. in length and from 092 in. 
to 0*83 in. in width, the largest being 1*25x0*89 in. and 
the smallest 1*12 x 0*83 in. They average 1*17 x 0*87 in. 
216. JSgialitis alexandrina (L.). 
JEgialitis cantianus D. & O. p. 430; La T. p. 580. 
The Kentish Plover is common in spring on the mud 
flats and shores of tidal creeks. It passes again in 
September. 
217. Hsematopus osculans Swinhoe. 
Hcematopus osculans D. & O. p. 432; La T. p. 580. 
The Chinese Oystercatcher is not commonly seen in the 
vicinity of Chinwangtao. I saw one flying over on the 
20th of May, 1911, another was reported as having been 
shot in March 1912, and two were seen by the collectors 
on the 22nd of May, 1913. 
