Golden plover

“ The golden plover is one of the finest birds that flies; it associates in flocks of a thousand, stools well, is extremely fat, is delicious on the table, and has a peculiarly musical whistle. It frequents the uplands, and feeds on grasshoppers. Its back is marked with a greenish red that faintly resembles gold, and gives rise to its name. The young are quite different in plumage. ”

“ On the coast it is apt to be fishy, but when shot inland, and on upland pastures, of superior quality.
The American Golden Plover, Charadrius Marmoratus, “the Frost bird;” a very beautiful species, and of rare excellence when killed on the upland, where it is found more frequently and more abundantly than on the shore. ”

“ I want only to keep what I have; to rise each morning and look out on the sky and the grassy dew-wet earth from day to day, from year to year. To watch every June and July for spring, to feel the same old sweet surprise and delight at the appearance of each familiar flower, every new-born insect, every bird returned once more from the north. To listen in a trance of delight to the wild notes of the golden plover coming once more to the great plain, flying, flying south, flock succeeding flock the whole day long. ”

“ The plumage is black, densely spotted with yellow above, the forehead and superciliary streaks are white, as are the sides of the body. In winter the under parts are nearly white. At that season the various species migrate southwards as far as Cape Colony, India, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, and Chili. The loud clear whistle of the Golden Plover is a characteristic sound in summer on our sub-alpine hills, where the bird deposits four rich olive-brown eggs in a hollow in the herbage; it is very wary at the nest. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Birds whose down has protected them during the early part of their history, become aware of the dangers which threaten a more conspicuous plumage, which is a marvellous thing, whether acquired by reasoning or instinct. This is proved by the action of birds of the same order. The Golden Plover, with plumage in harmony with the surroundings of her nest (her feathers being still further subdued in colour during the breeding season) , sits much closer than the Green Plover, although a shyer bird, with eggs possessing the same protective qualities. ”

“ After they are able to shift for themselves the young remain several weeks on the moors with their parents, both collecting into small flocks, which are often intermingled with those of the golden plover, and often in the evenings uniting into larger. They rest at night on the smoother parts of the heath, and both species, when resting by day, either stand or lie on the ground. When one advances within a hundred yards of such a flock it is pleasant to see them stretch up their wings, as if preparing for flight, utter a few low notes, and immediately stand on the alert, or run a short way ”

“ Another notable species, the golden plover, is a cosmopolitan, and a remarkable migrant, journeying from its arctic breeding place to the tropics, not only overland, but across thousands of miles of ocean, as from Nova Scotia direct to Bermuda, and Alaska to Hawaii. The crested "lapwing" of Europe is another famous species. The plovers have short bills and live on insects ”

“ The annual flight of the adult eastern golden plover is so wonderful that it may be given in some detail, particularly since it is one of the exceptions to the general rule that spring and fall movements are over the same routes (fig. 18) . After reaching the South American coast the birds make a short stop and then continue overland to the pampas -52- of Argentina, where they remain from September to March. Leaving their winter quarters, they cross northwestern South America and the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the North American mainland on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. ”

“ Golden plover come to the Bollin meadows every winter, but not so many I think as when the land was more liable to floods, at least I do not hear their clear whistle as often as formerly. It is not unusual to see them flocking with peewits.
Peewits are called simply "plover" here. There are large flocks on every side though not actually in the garden. ”

“ The colour of the whole upper side is black, thick set with yellowish green spots; the breast brown, with spots as on the back; the body is white. The male of this species is also black beneath in the spring. The flesh is sweet and tender, and therefore esteemed a choice dish in this and other countries.
The Golden Plover feeds principally during the night, and during the day time may be seen sitting or standing on the ground, asleep. The parent birds are very careful in guarding their young. When any intruder approaches their nest, they use all sorts of stratagems to divert his attention. ”

“ The habits, flight, and language of the Golden Plover need not be spoken of here, as this bird has been so often and exhaustively described by North-American ornithologists. The only peculiarity it possesses which I have not seen mentioned, is its faculty of producing a loud sound, as of a horn, when a few passing birds, catching sight of others of their kind on the ground below, descend violently and almost vertically to the earth with unmoving wings. ”

“ In a few seconds I had them in focus, and saw they were Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis) in breeding plumage, which interested me greatly, as it was the first of this species I had seen alive. They went about in pairs, sometimes coming quite close; I think they had young among the grass and heather. We next went to the edge of the cliffs to see the thousands of Puffins that are continually flying backward and forward. It is wonderful looking down from this great height at the never-ceasing stream of bird-life, all seeming to be in a great hurry about something. ”

“ Golden Plover.—C. Common in the autumn, when individuals with partly black breasts are sometimes obtained. We very rarely observe it on the spring migration, although thirty were observed in March a year or two since on the Bure marshes during a severe fall of snow. I observed one as early as July 14th, 1896, on the Bure marshes.
Squatarola helvetica. Grey Plover.—C. Small flocks of beautiful adults generally visit Breydon on their way north in spring. Sometimes abundant in autumn, as in late September and early October, 1899, when hundreds were seen, and many shot. ”

“ The two last named have now ceased to exist in this country as breeding species. [285] The golden plover, although incessantly persecuted by fowlers and sportsmen, is still not uncommon; probably because the great majority of the birds that visit the British islands on migration in autumn and winter have their breeding-grounds in remote regions north of the arctic circle, where there are no human beings to molest them. The birds that breed with us are also migratory, and escape destruction by going south in autumn. ”

“ The breeding range - 50 - of the eastern golden plover extends through Arctic America west to the northern coast of Alaska, where in the vicinity of Point Barrow it meets the nesting grounds of the Pacific form, which is really an Asiatic subspecies. It breeds chiefly in the Arctic coast region of Siberia and merely overflows onto the Alaskan coast, some of the birds probably migrating south along the coast of Asia to winter quarters in Japan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, including the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesas Islands, and the Low Archipelago. ”

“ P. Belon (1555) says that the name Pluvier is bestowed “pour ce qu'on le prend mieux en temps pluvieux qu'en nulle autre saison,” which is not in accordance with modern observation, for in rainy weather plovers are wilder and harder to approach than in fine. Others have thought it is from the spotted (as though with rain-drops) upper plumage of two of the commonest species of plovers, to which the name especially belongs—the Charadrius pluvialis of Linnaeus, or golden plover, and the Squatarola helvetica of recent ornithologists, or grey plover. ”

“ Nor is the route directly from the north to the south, though there is plenty of evidence to show the fallacy of the notion that all birds move in this one direction.
The golden plover nests along the Arctic coasts of North America from Alaska to Hudson Bay. So soon as the young are able to take care of themselves the birds migrate south-east to Labrador, [78] where for some weeks they fatten on the autumn harvest of fruits. A short journey across the Gulf of St Lawrence brings them to Nova Scotia, where they gather before starting on their oversea flight. ”

“ Some of the shore birds that breed on the Arctic tundras of Mackenzie and in Alaska fly southeastward across Canada to the Atlantic coast and finally follow the oceanic route to the mainland of South America. The golden plover may accomplish the whole 2,400 miles without pause or rest, in fair weather the flocks passing Bermuda and sometimes even the islands of the Antilles without stopping. Although most birds make their migratory flights either by day or by - 40 - night, the golden plover in this remarkable journey flies both day and night. ”

“ At night the flocks appeared to split up, the birds going off in twos and threes to the "parks." Round the margin of the loch they associated with the Green Plover, and to a smaller degree with the Gulls.
Lapwing (Vanellus vulgaris) .—Very common; they are never shot at, and are consequently very tame.
Ringed Plover (Ægialitis hiaticula) .—These delightful little birds were extremely numerous, and very tame. They were always to be seen feeding along the ebb in lots of a few individuals up to quite large flocks, very often associating with the Turnstones and Golden Plover. ”

“ May it not be true that for a short distance the latter bird may be the faster flier, but that in consequence of its lack of staying power it is overtaken before it goes half a mile unless it can elude its pursuer by twists and turns. In this connection it is worth recalling the experiences of that acute and accurate observer Charles St. John [9] : “The golden plover,” he writes, “is a favourite prey, and affords the hawk a severe chace before he is caught. ”

“ A few fall victims to the numerous gunners who frequent the shores during the autumn and winter, and consequently it occasionally makes its appearance in the market, where I believe it often passes for a Golden Plover, especially in the case of young birds on their first arrival in November ”

“ Here they feed liberally and at large, becoming plump and fat. On these grounds the birds often remain till the return of spring. Although many are shot, most of the birds that find their way to market are taken in nets by professional fowlers. When the flocks are heaviest, and during hard weather, from fifty to eighty plovers are sometimes secured at one raising of the net.
Flying with the lapwing may often be seen flocks or "trips" of golden plover—one of the most beautiful birds of its family, and much less common as a species than the last. ”

“ The Golden Plover appears to be most abundant on the pampas between the thirty-fourth and thirty-sixth parallels of latitude, but how far south its range extends has not yet been ascertained. The return migration begins early in March, and yet Mr. Barrows met with it in the neighbourhood of Bahia Blanca and on the Sierra de la Ventana from February 8 to March 19. During most of this time he says it was abundant in flocks of from twenty to two hundred birds, which appeared to be moving uniformly south or south-west.
388. EUDROMIAS MODESTA (Licht.) . (WINTER PLOVER.)
Vanellus modestus, Burm. ”

“ The Laguna de Janda, an inland sea of yellow muddy water, surrounded by belts of sedge and cane-brake stretching away for miles, is a well-known wildfowl resort, abounding in winter with Grey Geese, ducks, and divers of many kinds, besides Snipe, Rails, Bitterns, and aquatic birds in all their varieties. The dry plateaux on the north are a notable resort of Little Bustard; and large bags of Quail and Golden Plover are there, at times, secured. ”

“ Vast areas are passed over without alighting; for many species never are seen in mid career. Why is it that the golden plover feels that it is worth while to fly from the arctic coast to Argentina?
Let any man—if one there be—who is not profoundly impressed by the combined instinct and the reasoning of migratory birds do himself the favor to procure and study the 47-page pamphlet by Dr. ”

“ Few wader notes are more beautiful than the liquid tluie of the grey plover, known to the local gunners as the silver plover to distinguish it from the golden and green plovers. Both these species are common on the marshes, but seldom come far seaward; the silver is the real shore bird. ”

“ The Killdeer Plover, perhaps from his close kinship to the fraternity of game birds, has come to regard man and all human devices with deep suspicion, and to get on terms of close fellowship with him is no easy matter. While not himself an usual object of the sportsman's effort, owing to his lean body and indifferent savor, he is the immediate relative of those much sought-after birds, the Golden and the Black-bellied Plover. ”