THE BIRDS OF LIBERIA 663 
Another of this elusive group, found in low swampy forest. Biittikofer suc- 
ceeded in procuring one at Hill Town, and two adults at Mt. Olive, while a 
fourth adult is recorded by Oberholser from Mount Coffee. There are no other 
instances. 
HELIORNITHIDAE Finfoots 
Podica senegalensis senegalensis (Vieillot). Smaller Finfoot 
Heliornis senegalensis Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., vol. 14, p. 277, 1817: Senegal. 
Slender-necked, length about 13 inches; above dull brownish, darker and with numerous small 
white spots across shoulders and base of wings; tail long, stiff, blackish with pale shafts; a narrow 
white stripe from eye along sides of neck; chin and breast white, lower neck finely speckled with 
darker, flanks and under tail-coverts barred brown and white; feet lobed, yellow, bill pale. West 
Africa. 
This is a well-known and widely distributed species along the larger water- 
ways of Liberia, penetrating also into the side streams and forest pools, usually 
solitary or occasionally two together. We started a number on the Du that 
splashed up in front of the launch about a gunshot away and sought the shelter 
of overhanging vegetation along the bank, flying very close to the surface of the 
water. As arule they are extremely wary. One that I watched swam very low 
in the water with the back nearly awash, but saw me at the least move, sank 
under the surface and disappeared. 
They evidently nest in the autumn, for on October 8 a downy young one was 
brought to us at Paiata, and on the 27th of the same month two others were 
brought in at Moylakwelli that were slightly more advanced with the tail- 
feathers partly grown. The prominent claw on the first digit of the wing was 
obvious in these little birds. 
CHARADRIIFORMES 
CHARADRIIDAE. Plovers and Sandpipers 
Charadrius hiaticula hiaticula Linné. European Ringed Plover 
Charadrius hiaticula Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 150, 1758: Sweden. 
Small, 6 inches long; a black forehead band from eye to eye and another from base of bill to 
ear, cutting off a white band between them; chin, throat, and nape white forming a collar, then a 
broad black breast band continued to form a black collar above; crown, back, wings and upper 
tail-coverts olive gray, lower breast and belly and outer tail-feathers white; bill black-tipped, orange 
at base. Breeds on European coasts, winters south to west coast of Africa and the Cape. 
This is a winter resident of the beaches and sand-banks near the coast. 
Biittikofer (1885, p. 237) collected specimens near Robertport, and on the banks 
at the mouth of the Marfa River where it arrives from the north in the month of 
October. Lowe found it at Nifu, December 30, 1910 (Bannerman, 1912). 
Charadrius marginatus pallidus Strickland. West African White-fronted Sand-plover 
Charadrius pallidus Strickland, Contr. Ornith., 1852, p. 158: Damaraland to Gold Coast. 
Small, 5 inches long; base of bill to eyes white; line from angle of mouth to ear region and the 
forehead black; nape buff; rest of upper parts olive, the wings and tail darker brownish; a narrow 
white wing-bar; two outer tail-feathers white, third white with dark tip; lower surfaces white, 
washed with buff on breast. Bull and feet blackish. 
