The RINGED PLOVER (_Charadrius hiaticula_) is light brownish ash-colour on the upper parts of the body; the large wing-covers being tipped with white; the throat and belly are white, the former having a black patch upon its front; the cheeks are black, divided between the eyes by a white line; the quills are dusky, part of the shafts and the web at the base being white. Of the twelve feathers that compose the tail, the two centre ones are brown, with dark tips, the three next black towards the end, the next one only brown on the inner web, and the outer one entirely white. The claws are black, the eyes hazel, and the feet orange, the beak is orange, tipped with black. During the winter these colours are less bright and the black upon the throat comparatively very pale. The female has less white upon the front and more upon the wings, and her plumage generally is of a more cineraceous brown. The young are dusky black and without the white on the front; their bill is dusky, and their foot yellowish brown. The length of this species is seven inches and half, and the span of the wing, sixteen inches; the bill measures one inch and half. The Ringed Plover is abundantly met with in Germany and Holland, and is also found in France and Italy; during the summer it visits Russia and Siberia, whilst in Great Britain it remains throughout the greater part of the year, being especially numerous in all such parts of our coast as are well covered with sand and shingle. This species has, however, been known to breed in the sandy warrens of Norfolk and Suffolk, at a considerable distance from the sea. The food of this Plover consists of insects, worms, and small crustaceans. The four eggs laid by the female are deposited near the sea, in a hole in the sand, above high-water mark; occasionally this cavity is lined with tiny stones, of about the size of a pea, and from this circumstance has been derived the name of "Stone Hatch," by which the bird is known in some parts of England. The eggs have a cineraceous brown shell, spotted with black and greyish blue. If disturbed while brooding, the parents at once feign lameness, and anxiously endeavour to lead intruders away from their little family. The note of the Ringed Plover is a shrill whistle. * * * * * The DOTTED PLOVERS (_Eudromias_) form a distinct group, having their high straight beak compressed in the centre of the upper mandible, and of greater length than their large head. A portion of the wing is much prolonged, and the tarsus covered with horny plates. The dotted plumage is very similar in the various species. THE DOTTED PLOVER, OR DOTTEREL.