suffused with an opaline light, within the confines of which a bird is dimly seen to advance, then another
and a third. Presently a breeze rolls away the mist,, and discloses a number o f these watchful sentinels,
each on his mound of faded moss, and all emitting their mellow cries the moment we offer to advance. They
are males, whose mates are brooding over their eggs, or leading their down-clad and toddling chicks among
the, to them, pleasant peat-bogs that intervene between the high banks, clad with luxuriant heath, not yet
recovered from the effects o f the winter frosts, and little meadows of cotton-grass, white as the snow-wreaths
that lie on the distant hill. How prettily they run over the grey moss and lichens, their little feet twinkling,
and their full, bright, and soft eyes gleaming, as they commence their attempts to entice us away from
their chosen retrea ts! The nest is a slight hollow in a tuft o f moss o r on a dry place among the heath,
irregularly strewed with fragments o f withered plants. The eggs, o f which the full number is four, are
placed with their small ends together. They are much larger and more pointed than those of the Lapwing,
being, 011 an average, two inches and one-twelfth in length and one inch and five-twelfths in their greatest
transverse diameter. The shell is thin and smooth, of flig h t-g rey ish or pale-greenish yellow or cream-
colour, irregularly spotted, dotted, and blotched with dark brown, and sometimes having a few light-purple
spots interspersed, the markings larger towards the broadest part. The young leave the nest immediately
after they burst the shell, and conceal themselves by lying flat on the ground. At this time the female
evinces the greatest anxiety for their safety, and will occasionally feign lameness to entice, the intruder to
pursue her. I have several times seen one fly off1 to a considerable distance, alight in a conspicuous place, a n d i
tumble about as if in the agonies of death, her wings flapping as if they had been fractured or dislocated.
The eggs are delicious, and the young birds, when fledged, not less so.”
I have incidentally alluded to, but perhaps not spoken sufficiently in detail of, the great difference in the
dress of the Goldep Plover at opposite seasons of the year. I may add, then, that the whole of those parts
o f the plumage which are black in summer become white, or white intermixed with yellow, in winter, and
that the golden colouring of the newly moulted feathers becomes exceedingly conspicuous, particularly in
the young o f the year—a circumstance which has obtained for the bird its well-known name o f Golden Plover.:
Another state o f plumage also demands a passing notice—that in which the bird is decked during the first
four.orJive days of its existence. To see the young in the beautiful colourings and markings which then
adorn them, their own native hills must be resorted to. The wild aspect o f theses localities, with their frequent
accompaniments of wind, mists, sleet, and rain, would seem to be but little suited to these delicate nestlings;
but such is not the case, for they are perfectly hardy, and are in possession of all the energies necessary for
their safety from the -moment they are hatched. The mossy character, too, o f the markings with which
they are adorned tend to their preservation, since it closely assimilates in appearance to the surface o f the
ground and the objects surrounding their birth-place. Should any of my readers desire to view the Golden
Plover in all its beauty, let them repair to the Dovrefjeld, in Norway, by the 1st o f July, and they will
there find it in its gayest dress, with its young ju st hatched. No fear of disappointment need be entertained;
for the bird is very plentiful in this bleak moorland, up to an elevation o f from five to six thousand feet.
There they will also find the White Grouse, the Redwing, the Fieldfare, the Blue-tliroated Warbler, and a host
of other birds breeding, which will interest them, to say nothing of one o f the wildest scenes in nature, backed
by the frowning Sneehatten in the distance. Should such a journey be incompatible with their convenience
or pleasure, let them betake themselves to the Grampians, on many parts o f which the bird breeds; but
this locality is far less interesting than the one above-mentioned, in Norway, my visit to which will always
be remembered with feelings' o f pleasure.
I t might be supposed that a bird possessing such vast means o f transport would enjoy a wide range over
the face of the g lobe; but the reverse is the true state of the c a se ; for we now know that the Golden Plovers
o f Cnina, India, Java, Sumatra, Australia, and America, which were formerly believed to be identical with
it, comprise several species, all of which are quite distinct from our bird, whose range extends over the
whole of Europe, Asia as far eastward as Affghanistan, and Africa as far south as the equator.
To say that the flight o f the Golden Plover is rapid in the extreme, th at it overtops the hills in: flocks, and
descends down the valleys like a shower o f stones, that itatrips over the ground with the utmost celerity,
that it feeds more by night than by day, that its food consists o f worms, insects, and their larvm,. that its
weight is from seven to nine ounces, that the female exceeds her mate in size, and that she lays foUr large
eggs, would not be adding to our stock o f ornithological knowledge, since these points are as well known
to every one acquainted with our native birds as to the writer of this chapter.
I t will not be necessary to append a lengthy description of the colouring o f the adults, since their
appearance in summer and winter is correctly delineated on the accompanying Plates ; but I may mention
that the young birds at two days old are exceedingly pretty, having all the under surface, p art o f the wings,
two stripes down the back, a space under the eye, a line along the forehead, and the back o f the neck
white, the remainder of the plumage marbled with orange and black; the legs purplish flesh-colour;
and the bill rather darker. One o f the two. accompanying Plates represents a male, a female1, and
four young birds, all o f life-size, in their summer dress;Vthe other represents the bird as seen in its
winter costume, with a number of reduced figures iii-the distance.