Fig. 97.—Golden Plover (summer plumage). ⅙ natural size.
The golden plover gets its common name from the rich yellow spots that decorate its upper parts. All the species of the genus to which it belongs undergo a very remarkable change of plumage every year: in winter the whole under parts are pure white; in spring the white changes to intense black, and this nuptial, or summer dress, lasts until the autumn moult, when the winter white is resumed. With us this species breeds in suitable localities throughout the British Islands, but very sparingly in the southern half of England. The nest is a slight hollow among heather or short grass, sometimes on the bare ground, and is scantily lined with dry grass. The eggs, of a yellowish stone-colour, spotted and blotched with blackish brown, are four in number, and are handsome, and large for the bird. The young when hatched are pretty little creatures, orange-yellow and brown in colour.
The call-note of the golden plover, clear and wild and far-reaching, is one of the bird-sounds that have a great charm. In the pairing season the male emits a different sound, by way of love-song, as he rises and flutters in the air above his mate, and reiterates a double note so rapidly that it runs into a trill.
After the breeding season the birds unite in flocks, and leave the moors for the lowlands and seashore.
The Eastern, or lesser golden plover (Charadrius fulvus), a form of the British golden plover differing only in its slightly smaller size, has been obtained on two or three occasions in this country.
Grey Plover.
Squatarola helvetica.
Fore-crown white, and upper parts mottled blackish brown and white; lores, cheeks, throat and neck, and under parts, black. Length, twelve inches. After the autumn moult the upper parts are more greyish, and all the rest white.