of which a bird is dimly seen to advance, then another
t, and discloses a number of these watchful sentinels,
cries the moment we offer to advance. They

 

ight, within the confines
breeze rolls away the mis
d all emitting their mellow

ading their down-clad and toddling chicks among

banks, clad with luxuriant heath, not yet

suffused with an opaline l
and a third. Presently a
each on bis mound of faded moss, an
s are brooding over their eggs, or le

s that intervene between the bigh
| little meadows of cotton-grass, white as the snow-wreaths

and lichens, their little feet twinkling,

are males, whose mate
the, to them, pleasant peat-bog
effects of the winter frosts, anc
How prettily they run over the grey moss
as they commence their attempts to entice us away from
a tuft of moss or on a dry place among the heath,

recovered from the
that lie on the distant hill.
and their full, bright, and soft eyes gleaming,
The nest is a slight hollow in
fragments of withered plants.

They are much
elfth in length and one inch and five-twelfths in their greatest

their chosen retreats !
The eggs, of which the full number is four, are

irregularly strewed with
placed with their small ends together.

and one-tw
and smooth, of a light-greyish or pale-greenish yellow or cream-

larger and more pointed than those of the Lapwing,

being, on an average, two inches

transverse diameter. The shell is thin
and blotched with dark brown, and sometimes having a few light-purple

colour, irregularly spotted, dotted,
The young leave the nest immediately

rger towards the broadest part.
1 themselves by lying flat on the ground. At this time the female
safety, and will occasionally feign lameness to entice the intruder to
fly off to a considerable distance, alight in a conspicuous place, and
as if they had been fractured or dislocated.

spots interspersed, the markings la
after they burst the shell, and concea
evinces the greatest anxiety for their
pursue her. I have several times seen one
agonles of death, her wings flapping
hen fledged, not less so.”

ken sufficiently in detail of, the great difference in the
I may add, then, that the whole of those parts

tumble about as if in the
The eggs are delicious, and the young birds, w

I have incidentally alluded to, but perhaps not spo
dress of the Golden Plover at opposite seasons of the year.
of the plumage which are black in summer become white, or white intermixed with yellow, in winter, and
ng of the newly moulted feathers becomes exceedingly conspicuous, particularly in
hich has obtained for the bird its well-known name of Golden Plover.

assing notice—that in which the bird is decked during the first

that the golden colour!
the young of the year—a circumstance W
Another state of plumage also demands a p
four or five 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 of these localities, with their frequent
accompaniments of wind, mists, sleet, and rain, would seem to be but little suited to these delicate nestlings 5
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, of the markings with which
they are adorned tend to their preservation, since it closely assimilates in appearance to the surface of 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 Ist of July, and they will
there find it in its gayest dress, with its young just hatched. No fear of disappointment need be entertained ;
for the bird is very plentiful in this bleak moorland, up to an elevation of from five to six thousand feet.
There they will also find the White Grouse, the Redwing, the Fieldfare, the Blue-throated Warbler, and a host
of other birds breeding, which will interest them, to say nothing of one of 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 of 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 of pleasure.

It might be supposed that a bird possessing such vast means of transport would enjoy a wide range over
the face of the globe ; but the reverse is the true state of the case; for we now know that the Golden Plovers
of China, 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 flig 2G Plover is rapid i i ills 1
: a 4 flight of dhe Golden Plover is rapid in the extreme, that 1t overtops the hills in flocks, and

a oa the valleys like a shower of stones, that it trips over the ground with the utmost celerity,
that it feeds more by nig hat 1 i ] i
ee. y night than by day, that its food consists of worms, insects, and their larva, that tts
weight is from seven to n : 2 female e in Si
g : ae : ine ounces, that the female exceeds her mate in size, and that she lays four large
egos, would not be adding rn ical k i 1
ue . g to our stock of ornithological knowledge, since these points are as well known
0 every one acquainted with our native birds as to the writer of this chapter
It will not be ne °
cessat D e ; ‘ripti i 1
ary to append a lengthy description of the colouring of the adults, since their
appearance ‘ a is rr 1
i : i in ae and winter is correctly delineated on the accompanying Plates; but I may mention

rat the young birds at two days o re eX i : i
fap Fe he ays old are exceedingly pretty, having all the under surface, part of the wings,

y ; own the back, a spi ¥ a lir
Boe i . : c pe under the eye, a line along the forehead, and the back of the neck

yhite, the remainder of the plumag ‘ i : 1 }

eee ere | age marbled with orange and black; the legs purplish flesh-colour 5
re bill rather darker. One of the two accompanying Pl: le, and
Be a ee panying Plates represents a male, a female, 4
our young birds, all of life-size, in their sum dr i in |
winter costume, witl | , summer dress; the other represents the bird as seen in Its
, ‘ +, with an ; P > res | j
: umber of reduced figures in the distance.