BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.
CBARAURIUS HELVETICUS, WI L S O N , '
PLATE CCCXXXIV, MALI: I S SUMMER, Vcrxo, AXD Anrr.r is WIMTEE.
T H I S beautiful bird makes its appearance on our .southern coasts in
the beginning of April, as I had many opportunities of observing in the
course of my jourmy along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, in, the
spring of 1887. Instead of being congregated in large flocks, as is the
case during the» southward migration: in autumn, they arc! soeu.comi
n g S small numbers, but at short intervals, so as almost to form a continuous
Iiiic, Thev travel chiefly by night, and rest for a groat part
of the day along tiic margins of the sea, either reposing on. the sands
in til« sunshine, or seiu-ching the beaches for food. After dii.sk. their
well-known cries give note of their passage, l»ut fcy day they remain
silent; even when forced to betake themselves. to flight. On suplí o c -
casions tlicy generally wheel over the water's, and not unfrequently return
to the spot which they had fit first^lected. I have traced this
species along the whole of Our eastern coasts , and beyond it to the rugged
shsresH Labrador, where my party procured a few, on the mosscovcred
rocks, although wo did not then find aiivr.ests, and where some
young birds were obtained in the beginning of August.
Individiiiilsof this species spend the summer months in the mountainous
parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, wheiisthey breed.
I found their nests near the waters of the Delaware and the Perkioming
Creek, wheii I resided in the first of these States, and in the same lo-'
calities as those of Toimm Hartramim, as well as in ploughed fields.
The nest is merely a slight hollow with a few blades of grass. The
eggs are four, an inch and seven and a-lmlf eighths in lengths an inch
and three-eighths in their greatest breadth ; their ground-colour yellowish
white:, tinged with olivaceous, and pretty generally covered with
blotches and (¡ote ofjjglit brown, and pale purple, the markings being
mor© abundant toward the small end. Their form ®S similar to that
of the of the Guillemot, thatós, broadly rounded at the large end,
then tapering, with the .sides nearly straight, and the narrow end
rounded. When1 setting, these birds will remain until they are almost
trodden upon, On being started* they fly off a few yards, alight running.
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.
I | all the art ifices employed on such occasions to induce the intruder
• out in pursuit: The young leave the nest almost immediately
after they are hatched, and should one approach them the parents become
very clamorous, and fly awund until they itrc assured of the safety
of their brood, when they take a 'Bng flight, and disappear for a time..
Unless during the breeding season, they are exceedingly shy; but their
anxiety for their young renders them forgetful of the danger which
• incur I approaching man. Qyoung, when two or three weeks
old, run with great cclerity, and squat in perfect silence when apprehensive
of danger. When ,fhey are able to fly, several femfflms unite,
and betake themselves, to the sea-shore, where other flocks gradually
arrive, until at length, on the approach of cold weather, atast : all of
them begin to. move southward. H l i H B g of thl!Se
Movers pass beyond the.liniits of the United States, some remain on
the shores of the Floridas during: winter. In their habits they are more
maritime than the Golden l'lovers, which, when migrating, generally
advance over"the 'ljutty V^i ,Jii''i'i <
The flight of this bird is swift, strong, and well sustained. When
roaming over large smid-bai-s, they move in compact bodies, whirling
round, and suddenly veering, so a* alternately to exhibit their upper and
lowei parts. At this time old and young are intermixed,: and many of
the former hav^lost the black .^¿conspicuous on the neck and breast
% summer. During winter, or as long as they frequent the sea shore,
they feed . On marine i i ^ f e worms, and small shell-i'mli ; and when.'
they are in the interior, on grasshoppers and other insects,, as well as
berries, of various kinds, on which they fatten so as to become tolerably
good eating-i
, This speciesii known in Pennsylvania by the name, of Whistling
Field Plover, suggested by the loud and modulated cries which it emits:
during the love-season. In theKastern States, as well as in Kentucky,
it is called the Bull-head; but in the South its most common appellation
is Black bellied Plover, ¿.have seen it, though sparingly, along the
shores of the Ohio, probably during its passage from the north.
As its habits agree, with those of the Plovers generally, and its form
is similar to that of the Gol.lcn Plover and other species, the only difference
being the. presence, of a rudimentary hind toe, it. was Scarcely
necessary to distinguish it generically from Charadrim, as many recent
authors have done. '