Part 43

THE PRATINCOLE Glareola pratincola (Linnæus)

The Pratincole is a native of Northern Africa, Asia Minor, and Palestine, but it also nests in certain suitable districts in South Europe, where it is only known as a summer visitor. In England it has not infrequently been taken on both spring and autumn migrations.

The adult has the upper parts clove brown. Tips of secondaries, tail coverts, and bases of tail feathers white. Under wing coverts chestnut. Throat buff, margined with black; breast brownish, turning to white on the belly. Length 10·5 in.; wing 7·5 in.

THE BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE Glareola melanoptera (Nordmann)

This is the Eastern form of the above, nesting from the shores of the Black Sea eastwards to the Altai. Two specimens, which came over in company with the commoner species, were shot in Kent in June 1903.

It may be recognised by the under wing coverts being black and the absence of the white tips to the secondaries.

THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSER Cursorius gallicus (J. F. Gmelin)

Inhabiting dry and arid regions south of the Mediterranean, this species has nevertheless wandered up to our islands on several occasions, and curiously enough always on the autumn migration, between October and December. The general colour above and below is sandy buff; quills and under wing coverts blackish. There is a dark stripe behind the eye, and the nape is bluish black, this colour extending forward to the eye. Length 10 in.; wing 6·3 in.

THE DOTTEREL Eudromias morinellus (Linnæus)

A lonely, bleak and bare wind-swept moorland, where the scanty herbage is kept short by the elements and the wandering flocks of mountain sheep; and where the sounds of nature are supplied on most days by the wind as it rushes down the valleys between the rounded hill-tops, to the accompaniment perhaps of the Curlew's wild whistle, or where on the few calm days in summer a deathly silence prevails, broken only by the humming of a bee as it visits the purple heather, or the clear "go back, go back" of the male Grouse. In such a spot one may hear a low monotonous whistle, or have one's attention attracted by a small flock of rapidly flying birds skirting the crest of the hill; these are Dotterel, and this is their summer home. This bird is extremely, one might almost say foolishly, tame, though often owing to this tameness it will escape observation, for, instead of taking wing as we approach, it will either stand motionless, or running to the far side of some patch of heather remain unseen, as its colours harmonise so well with the surrounding heather.

The nest is a mere scrape in a bare spot, and hardly any materials are brought together, though a few bits of moss and lichen may be arranged round the eggs. These are three in number and are greenish in colour, very boldly blotched and marked with brown. Both sexes perform the duties of incubation and attend to the wants of the young when hatched.

In this country this species is only a migrant, and in September leaves the hill-tops, and passing through the lower lying counties of England wings its way to other climes.

The sexes are alike and are sandy brown on the back, with longitudinal fulvous markings; there is a white stripe over the eye. Chin white; breast ash brown, bordered with a narrow white transverse band; lower breast chestnut; belly black. In winter the under parts are pale ash brown. The young have rufous edgings to the feathers of the back, but otherwise resemble their parents in winter dress. Length 9 in.; wing 6 in.

THE CASPIAN PLOVER Ægialitis asiatica (Pallas)

Two examples of this eastern Plover, which inhabits the Caspian and Aral Sea region, were obtained near Yarmouth in May 1890.

It is not unlike our Common Ringed Plover, but lacks all the black markings on the head, and the band across the breast is bright chestnut, edged along its posterior margin with black. Length 7·5 in.; wing 5·6 in.

RINGED PLOVER Ægialitis hiaticola (Linnæus)

Few people can have walked along our shores without having their attention attracted by the plaintive whistle of this delightful little bird. It will suddenly be seen flying past, the dark ring showing up in contrast to its white breast, while as it gets farther away a light line across the outspread wing will also help to distinguish it. When it settles, especially if among stones and shingle, we shall have hard work to see it, while the oft-repeated note, sounding first on one side and then on the other, and coming apparently from the dark stones themselves, tends to bewilder us. There is no month in the year when we cannot find this bird on our shores whatever be the weather--amidst a howling winter's gale and driving sleet, or under the blazing summer's sun, when we can see the heated air vibrating over the burning stones, he is still there, apparently absolutely unmoved by the all-powerful forces of nature. But the time to see him at his best is in May; we are walking along when suddenly his well-known note strikes our ears, and we see him running along in front of us; we sit down to watch him and he in his turn will suddenly stop, and then running to some stone slightly higher than its neighbours, stand up and watch us. His mate soon joins him and together they stand, now running a few yards and then turning round give us another look, while they bob their heads up and down at the same time with a motion so characteristic of the Plovers. Finally, seeing that we do not go away they both get up and, calling out as they do so, fly off; but in a minute or so one of them is back again, sitting and watching us from his old stand. They have evidently a nest somewhere near, and equally, evidently, the hen has evaded our vigilance and is closely sitting on her treasures. Disappointed we rise to go, and on our doing so the hen rises apparently from the ground within six feet of us and runs away.

One step, and there on the bare stones are four pear-shaped eggs lying close packed, with their narrow ends to the centre, and practically indistinguishable from the shingle on which they lie. In colour they are pale clay, uniformly covered with black spots and mottlings. As soon as the birds see that their treasure is discovered they fly round us, calling out continually till we pass on, leaving the hen to resume her duties. The young are covered with thick down when hatched, and are brown, mottled with black on the back; below white, with a black ring round the chest. They leave the nest as soon as they are hatched, and very shortly begin to feed themselves on the various spiders, flies, and other small insects that abound in such places. Both parents carefully watch and tend them, flying up on the approach of danger, while the young squat closely on the ground, where they become almost invisible. Their wings grow when at the age of five weeks, by which time they are nearly as large as their parents, and are then well able to take care of themselves and wander away to join the flocks of their own kind, or to amalgamate with other passing wanderers, and add their cries to swell the sounds of the shore, which are such a delight to every naturalist.

The sexes are alike in plumage. General colour above pale sandy brown; below white. Forehead white, succeeded by a black band; lores and band across chest black. Legs bright yellow; beak black, yellow at its base.

The young resemble the adults, but lack the black band on the forehead; the chest band is brown concolorous with the upper parts. The legs olive green.

Generally distributed along the shore and in some inland sandy places throughout the British Isles.

THE LITTLE RINGED PLOVER Ægialitis curonica (J. F. Gmelin)

This species breeds in Scandinavia and throughout Europe, being rather scarcer in the west. To our shores it is only a very occasional straggler, not more than half-a-dozen authenticated instances being known.

It resembles the preceding species, but is rather smaller in size, paler in colour, and the bill is narrower, longer in proportion, and wholly black. The best characteristic, however, is that the shafts of all the primaries, except the outer ones, are dusky, whereas in the Ringed Plover they are all flecked with white to form a conspicuous bar when the wing is opened. Length 6·5 in.; wing 4·5 in.

THE KENTISH PLOVER Ægialitis cantiana (Latham)

As the Ringed Plover is one of our commonest shore birds, so the present species is one of our rarest, and it will never be met with unless a special journey is made to that lonely stretch of shore, which is its only home in these islands. In habits it is almost the counterpart of the Ringed Plover, but is a true migrant, arriving in April and leaving in September. The note is a short monosyllabic whistle and quite distinct from that of the preceding species.

It is a smaller bird than the Ringed Plover, which it otherwise resembles, except that the dark band across the chest is broken in the centre. Female and young resemble the male, but the band on forehead and chest is brown instead of black, and of the same colour as the upper parts. Length 6·25 in.; wing 4·25 in.