
the Birds of the Lower Petchora. 229 
young, and were walking away, when we stumbled upon the 
nest, which contained three eggs. A young bird, apparently 
only very lately hatched, crouched within two feet of the nest, 
its yellow colour being very conspicuous against the grey 
lichen-covered ground. The young closely resemble the 
young of Charadrius pluvialis, but have the darker parts of 
the upper plumage larger and more conspicuous™*. 
“To-day we found great areas of tundra quite unoccupied 
by the species. They appear to be thinly scattered over the 
tundra, preferring the lower-lying damper portions, and where 
the hummocks le in ridges and not broadcast. Doubtless 
they prefer these situations partly, if not wholly, on account 
of the greater quantity of yellow-green moss growing there, 
which must afford excellent concealment for the young, to 
which it closely approximates in colour. We have observed 
before, in Scotland, how difficult it is to detect young Golden 
Plover (as compared with some other young of Waders) as 
they lie flat upon the yellow patches of moss, head down, and 
legs drawn in under the body.” 
We obtained several nests of eggs, besides the above, which 
were deeply incubated. These we laid upon warmed cotton- 
wool along with the young bird, and covered them all over 
lightly with goose’s down. Early the following morning we 
started on a trip to the Golievski banks, which stretch across 
the entrance of the Petchora Gulf, in the Company’s steamer; 
and we took the precious boxful of young and eggs along with 
us, having covered them over, down, cotton, and all, with a 
mosquito-veil. ‘The sun was hot and the day fine; and five of 
‘the young were successfully hatched out, and were strong and 
healthy. 
As will be seen from the plates, the eggs of the Grey Plover 
* Since returning home Harvie Brown has compared specimens of the 
young of both species. Besides the above distinction, not to speak of the 
absence or presence of the hind toe, he finds that the young of the Golden 
Plover are brighter in colour, and that the white of the lower parts, where 
it joins the upper, is suffused with yellow, as also is the light-coloured 
collar on the back of the neck. In the young of the Grey Plover the 
dorsal plumage is duller in tinge, greener, and the white parts bordering 
on the yellow are purer. 










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