Grey plover

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Grey Plover in Summer Plumage in Yorks.—We have just received (Aug. 19th) a female Grey Plover (Squatarola helvetica) for preservation, which was shot by Mr. J.J.A. Riley on Midgley Moor, Yorks. We think the appearance of this bird in summer plumage in this locality a somewhat rare occurrence.—Rowland Ward (166, Piccadilly) .
Curlew (Numenius arquata) at Sea.—At 9 a.m. on Aug. 5th, at a distance of about twenty miles from the south-west coast of Ireland, I observed three Curlews flying at a height of about a hundred and fifty feet above the sea. ”

“ March.
30th.—One Lapwing, one Grey Plover, one Little Grebe, two Larks, one Fieldfare, and several Chaffinches struck and were killed. Wind W.N.W., overcast, and drizzling rain.
April.
18th.—The Ringed Plovers are breeding; several nests have from one to two eggs. ”

“ They are Gannets, Cormorants, Puffins, Grey and Royal Gulls, Sea-pies, 'Cranes,' Ducks, Teal, Curlew, and Sandpipers. None of these breed in the vicinity. On Oct. 10th a rush of Larks, Starlings, Linnets, Titmice, Thrushes, Blackbirds, 'Grey' Plover, and Snipe. Eighteen Starlings, six Blackbirds, twenty Larks, twelve Linnets, eight Titmice, four Thrushes, three Plover, and two Snipe killed striking lantern, and several injured but not killed."—John Walsh.
South Maidens.—"Spring: No birds strike the lantern in April and May. They do not strike until October. ”

“ In this country, as I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the sea-shore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden Plovers; yet, in severe seasons they assemble in numerous small flocks on the shores of the eastern counties, and, as Meyer well observes, they are disposed to be "sociable, not only towards their own species, but to every other coast bird. When a party either go towards the shore, or leave it for the meadows and flat wastes, they unanimously keep together ”

“ May 8th, 1872.—A remarkable passage of waders occurred to-day: the banks of the Guadalete swarmed with bird-life, some of the oozes crowded with plovers, &c., as thick as they could stand. A mixed bag included whimbrels, grey plovers, ring-dotterel, curlew-sandpiper, sand-grouse, &c. Many of the Grey Plovers were superb specimens in perfect black-and-white plumage, and the Curlew-Sandpipers in richest rufous summer-dress. ”

“ 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. ”

“ As they advance they alternately show their upper and under plumage, but more frequently the latter; for they generally keep at a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc. Occasionally one or two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground. ”

“ Adults in summer with the back, wings and tail barred or marked with black and white; top of head and nape white, except for a few black markings on the crown; face, throat, breast and fore part of belly, black. In winter, brownish-black, somewhat mottled, above; below dull white. Young similar to winter adults, but the back is spotted with yellowish-white. While these handsome plover migrate to some extent, and sometimes in large flocks, through the interior of the United States, they are chiefly and most abundantly found on the coast. They are the plover most eagerly sought by gunners. ”

“ The flocks of golden plover are usually smaller than those of green, and are more compact. When feeding together the two kinds are not easily discriminated. The moment they take wing, however, a difference is detected; the golden plover flying straight and quick, often in a V-shaped bunch; the green going loosely and without apparent order. All plover are restless and shifting before a change of weather, and when this is for the worse the golden plover always fly south. They are delicate birds, in fact, and little fitted to withstand the rigours of our northern climate. ”

“ While the nighthawk's monotonous cry and intermittent boom and the indistinct voice of the whippoorwill ring out in the late twilight of the July evenings, the alarmed, half-guttural chuckle of the grass plover is heard, so early migrating in light marching order, thin in flesh but strong of wing, a poor prize for the gunner whose ardor outruns his humanity and better judgment. Lean or fat, a plover is a plover, but would that he might tarry with us till the plump grasshoppers of August and September had clothed his breast and ribs with fatness. ”

“ The beautiful little ringed plover, or sea-lark, is another of our breeding species. It is permanently resident on our coasts, and is one of the most interesting of British shore-birds. At no time infrequent, there is a considerable accession in winter; and it is a pretty sight to watch a flock of these feeding among sand or shingle, or even upon a mud-flat. It is in such spots, too, that it lays its creamy-spotted eggs (pointed like those of all plovers) , often without the slightest semblance of a nest. No shore bird is as nimble as the ringed plover. ”

“ There are numerous kinds of plover that make their migratory passages along our coasts; but the one to which I refer, while to the epicure it ranks almost, if not absolutely, the first upon the list, and affords, by the swiftness of its flight and the eccentricity of its habits, a prize not unworthy of the highest efforts of the sportsman, has been the victim of many a misnomer, but is correctly known by the appellation American Golden Plover, Charadrius pluvialis (P.) . The Plover-family is large and of high respectability ”

“ The breeding-grounds of the Gray Plover are on the tundras and barren grounds in the Arctic regions of the Old and New Worlds, above the limits of 83 forest growth. The nest is always made upon the ground, and is merely a slight hollow, lined with a few scraps of withered herbage. The four eggs very closely resemble those of the Lapwing, but are not quite so olive. When once flushed from the nest the Gray Plover becomes very wary and restless, and does not return for some time; should the young be hatched various alluring antics are indulged in to withdraw attention from them. ”

“ Good sport and delicate fare are afforded also by the great tribe of "shore birds"—plovers, yellowlegs, curlews, snipe, and the various sandpipers that feed along the seashores or frequent the inland marshes of every part of the world, nowhere more numerously than along our much embayed eastern coast. The plovers are especially interesting, and one of them, the noisy killdeer, is familiar all over the country, breeding in upland fields, where four brown and spotted eggs are laid in a little hollow of the open ground, plover fashion. ”

“ The bird is in no way adapted to transport its young through the air.
There are upwards of a dozen species of British plover; birds interesting to the naturalist, dear to the heart of the shore-shooter and to the sportsman of the marshes. Some of these are summer visitants to our shores, others come in winter, while a few stay with us throughout the year. The common green plover or peewit, with its crest, its peculiarly rounded wings, its plaintive cry, is the best known; and this species breeds with us, as the abundance of its eggs shows. ”

“ Broken—yes, broken by the quavering wail of the plover pacing the grassy marge near its nest; by an occasional crash, as a heavy trout leaps high and falls back from its keen pursuit. But stay a moment yet, ere the rod is drawn out, to watch the ephemeræ dancing just above the surface of the water. They wheel in scores, they soar by hundreds; yet every movement seems to bring death close, for one here and one there, in a clumsy swerve, touches the water: its frail wings are damped so that it cannot rise again to the airy quadrille of its companions. ”

“ They must never be allowed to come broadside to the stream, for being flat-bottomed they would at once be capsized and everything in them lost." When free from fever he was delighted to note the numbers of birds, several of them unknown, which swarmed on the river and its banks, all carefully noted in his journal. One extract must suffice here: "Whenever we step on shore a species of plover, a plaguy sort of public-spirited individual, follows, flying overhead, and is most persevering in its attempts to give warning to all animals to flee from the approaching danger." ”

“ 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. ”

“ Is there a little consciousness of the spring-freshened colours of his plumage and pride in the dainty touch of his wings on the sweet wind? His love is watching his wayward course. He prolongs it. He has but a few yards to fly to reach the well-known feeding-ground by the brook where the grass is short; perhaps it has been eaten off by sheep. It is a straight and easy line—as a starling would fly. The plover thinks nothing of a straight line: he winds first with the curve of the hedge, then rises, uttering his cry, aslant, wheels, and returns ”

“ 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. ”

“ The vast flocks of plovers that congregate in autumn are said to be growing in numbers. Hundreds of thousands of eggs are collected annually; bunches of green plover are displayed at the gameshops during the autumn; and yet there are more of these birds in England than ever there were. This may be accounted for by the closeness with which the plover conforms to its environment through every season. The plover is dainty eating, as are also its eggs. "To live like a plover"—meaning to live on the wind—is a saying of no aptitude. All the species are voracious feeders on substantials. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I did think you knew the difference between a duck of any sort and a plover!"
"You call 'em plov——?"
Here one of the birds stretched its neck, flapped its wings, gave a hop and a short run, plover-ways, and finished with the typical harsh note.
"Great Donald! you're right, man!" finished the boy, in a mortified tone and with a considerable amount of disgust.
"Oh, well," he resumed, after a moment's silence, "a few plover won't come amiss, especially if we don't collar any more duck. Like 'em myself, grilled, as well as anything; they've such plump little breasts. Pull on, Joe." ”

“ Often confused with the last species in this plumage, but is smaller, bill smaller and more slender, and the axillars, or feathers nearest the body, under the wings, are gray while those of the Black-bellied Plover are black. This species is now regarded as rare on the North Atlantic coast during migrations, while in the interior it is more abundant than the last species. They do not seem to be as suspicious as the Black-bellies, and a flock will often allow a close approach, even when they see you. ”