the sea at its ebb retires to a distance, leaving extensive
surfaces of sand or shingle* This bird also frequents the
sides of large rivers, and is not unfrequently found about
the margin of inland lakes and large ponds. The observations
of Scales, Hoy and Salmon, have long since, established
the fact of its breeding on the sandy warrens of- Norfolk and
Suffolk, at a considerable distance from the. sea ; and, from the
more recent and interesting experiences of Professor ||ewton
and his brother .published in Mr, Steven son’s * Birds of Norfolk,’.
ifg appears that the 7th February is the-earliest, and
the 1st September the latest) daté on which'the; birds ?were
observed'on Thetford Warren, where-an. egg has beep, taken
so early as the 23rd March. By the middle of April laying
has become-general, and- there can be littlfe doubt- tbateffee
same bird lays -more than once in the same seasoitjeven when
she has not been deprived-of the first clutch. Ineubated
eggs and - freshly-hatched young’ have been found by- the
Editor so late as fee first 'wefÉSfii August.; ^ In the north pf
England,-and in Scotland^-where,t he species is:--exéèedingly
abundant, and breeds,on the shores of the’inland lakes, as
well as by the^sêa, nesting takes plâce --somewhat -later ; -and
the same remarks will apply to a great part ofelreland.
* - The mest is only a slighthollow^in the sand, in which its
four eggs are deposited ; but sometimes this cavity is lined
or covered with a .number of small stones,about the^§ize4of
peas, upon which tbe-nggS’’ are laid, and this-feabilffeas
gained for the Binged Ploverufi'^ome'eo'unties fee-provincial
name of Stone-hatch.* Many déposé feeir.,eggs jn any accidental
depression on - a bank of sand, 4 broken;, Shells, jjpr
shingles-above high-water mark^^sPle^eggs, : which measure
about -1*4 bÿ 1 inch, are a pale buff off cream-colour,
spotted and streaked wife ash blue and black. • This bird
has been known to lay fourieggs*:four times iu .succession in
the same season—-each set,, when- -completed, > beipg. taken
away ; the later ones were smaller than ûsqadjjancb altered
in form and markings, a natural consequence' of exhaq§-
* I t is frequently called the Ringed Dotterel : a- name which, shortened to
Dotterel, has often given rise to mdshnderstandjùgSÏ-' p
tion. The parents are greatly attached to their young, and
practise various devices -to’ draw off any intruder from their
charge, while from the-' great similarity in colour to -fee
surrounding''materials, either the eggs or the "young are very
difficult to find. The latter can run as soon as they emerge
from thé "shell. --TBéÿ/fêed ’ on wbrfesj" spidfefs; beetles, and,
when - at ’ fee -edge of the sea, on the various species of 'the
thinner-skinned Crustacea,1 as shrimps, sand-hoppers,-&c.,
and, wife feeéè; are taken particles of grit to aid digestion.
The note- ôfHh'is bird is a melodious whistle, and when
alarmed- resembles the word pen-^Mf- but during fee pairing
time the male has a distinct lové-câllt--r
In the- autumn fSféöe- birds which' havé frequented fee
inland localities cSfne down to-fee coasts, and a, partial migration
fôdfewâr-d -takes place ; 'the gaps being filled by arrivals
frommhër, -and -chiéflÿ- northern, latitudes. In spring they
jëtiirn7, biît whereas the birds which are moré orrlhës rèsidënf,
and also fee visitörs- fröm the north) -belongs to a large and
comparatively bullet-beaded forin with a'dull-coloured mantle';
they followed in 'May % numerous individuals c# a
small size, -more slender7 form, darker mantle^ and imóiè
sharply0defined coloration. This form has - even been- given
specific rank under the name Æ . interm edia ’pfen§tÖee|,
:föf7 :whichphbwbvery ’ there- db'feof-Jseém-15® be sufficient
grounds. -Apparently thé' ^haiîer^race Âs;;;a^-Routhern form,
which only visits our shorës -durih^'the sp rin g migration,
'nor-fs^eaSyfcPsay where*its- m ëmbërbgét b Having, as-tbey
db after a short stay-bwith perhaps a f é w ^ 0éptions.=on"feé
soüfe ébast,'particularly in Sussex, where 'they are' believed
tbbréëd.7 Individuals bfi this'’ smâlîèr race have' frequently
been^êcôrded as Little' Binged*
this,-which wilPn’IStbe treated* is a" perfectly-distinct species
andfenOr-whoe# apparitions-^ ëvèir in our ^southern districts,
■ are bxcëedîngly rare and irregular.
Malmgren states that a'brééd of * fee ’Bhrged Plover was
found, and bad pi’obâblyfeëèrfbred, on fee Seven Islands-in
%, 80° .45' H., and the bird appears to bave been obtained m
•Spitlbërgen. It breeds in Iceland- and Greenland, and on the