Genus SQUATAROLA.
Geh. Char. B i l l rather strong, cy lin d r ical, straight, n e a r ly as lo n g as the h e a d ; th e tip, or
h o rn y p a rt, ab ou t h a lf th e length o f th e w h o le b ill, tumid, and arched, w ith th e lom ia
b en d in g inwards. N a sa l g roove w id e , h a lf th e len g th o f th e biU. M eso rh in iim depressed
b e low th e le v e l o f th e tip. N o s tr ils lon g itu d in ally pie rced in th e membrane o f th e groove ,
linear, o blon g. W ings rather lon g , acuminate, w ith th e first quiU-feather th e longest.
L e g s slend er, o f mean len g th , naked ab ove th e tarsal jo in t. F e e t four-toed, three before
and on e b e h in d ; fron t toes jo in e d a t th e ir base b y a membrane, th at portion o f it b etween
the o u te r an d middle toe b e in g th e longest. H in d toe v e r y small o r rudimental. T a rsi
reticulated. P lum a g e th ick , close, and adpressed.
G R E Y PLOVER.
S qu ata rola cinerea, Cttv.
L e Van n e au Plu v ie r .
The Grey Plover is the only European example o f the genus Squatarola, a genus o f more than ordinary
interest to the ornithologist, possessing as it does characters which seem to place it in an intermediate
situation between the genus Charadrm on the one hand and that o f VanelUis on the other. In its most
striking peculiarities, both as regards its general form and the nature o f its periodical changes o f plumage,
it exhibits a striking affinity to the well-known Golden Plover; in fact, in some stages o f its plumage, it
requires a nice attention to other points to distinguish it from that bird: for example, during the first autuinn
and winter o f its existence, each feather has its edges spotted and margined with yellow, as the single
feather in the foreground o f our Plate will illustrate. The next change consists in the loss o f the yellow colour,'.
which is exchanged for grey, a style o f plumage which ever after characterizes this bird, excepting in the
commencement of the breeding season, and during the subsequent moult, when the greater part o f the under
surface is, as in the Golden Plover, o f a uniform rich and glossy black. Trusting to these characteristics
alone, we should be ready to assign to the bird a place in the genus CXaradrim-, but on examining the feet we
should immediately discover our mistake, for although we do not find a well-developed hind toe, still we are
presented with one in a rudimentary condition, indicating the fact o f its departing from the typical form of
the genus Charadrius, and its alliance to that o f VaneUus, between which it becomes a connecting link : hence
we agree with Baron Cuvier in the propriety o f constituting the genus Squatarola for its reception.
The range o f the Grey Plover is very extensive. It is found in the northern portions o f the r n n t i...! . 0f
Europe and America, everywhere preferring the borders o f fhe sea and the mouths o f large rivers, particularly
where low, flat, muddy shores extend, abounding with food expressly adapted to it, such as worms, various
kinds o f insects and their larvEC. A t some seasons it is very abundant on our shores; at others more sparingly
diffused, but never, we believe, altogether absent: they appear in the greatest abundance while performing
their periodical migrations, in the months of April and May, when their numbers are greatly augmented.
Along the coasts o f Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent, at such seasons they appear in flocks,
some individuals having the breast whoUy black, others mottled with black and white, while some few have
not yet begun to exhibit this change; which varied appearances depend on the maturity o f the bird, and on
the degree o f forwardness attained for the great purpose o f reproduction.
But little can be correctly affirmed regarding its nidification ; and it is still questionable whether it is to be
deemed a bird which regularly breeds in onr island. M. Temminck informs us that it is common in the
regions o f the arctic circle and on the confines o f Asia. The eggs are four in number, o f a light olive blotched
with black.
The Grey Plover, like its relation the Golden Plover, is an active bird, running rapidly along the flat shores
with his head depressed and his body in a horizontal position ; nor is it less remarkable for its powers o f
flight.
In consequence o f the remarks on the plumage above given, it will only be requisite for us to describe the
livery which characterizes the bird during the first autumn. The whole o f the upper surface, together with
the sides o f the chest, are beautifully bespangled with yellow and brown on a . dark olive-grey ground ; the
under parts white; ¡rides, beak, feet and legs, blackish olive.
flie Plate represents two adult birds: one in its spring, the other in its winter plumage, both o f the
natural size; and it will be observed that the black chest o f the bird in its spring plumage is bordered by a
band o f pure white.