Lance Stevens, age 13, of Jamestown, N.Y., for his question:

WHERE DOES THE UPLAND PLOVER LIVE?

An upland plover is a North American bird of the sandpiper family. It is usually found on wet prairies or meadows. It is the only member of the tattler group of sandpipers that does not live by the sea.

The upland plover breeds from Alaska to Montana and Maine. In the fall, it migrates to southern Brazil and Argentina. There the bird winters on the pampas.

An upland plover is about a foot long and it has an especially long tail for a sandpiper. Its color is blackish brown and buff above, and buff with dark streaks on the breast and sides. Its belly is white.

'iUpland plovers destroy harmful insects, such as locusts and cutworms.

The birds are protected from hunters by law.

The bird makes its nest in clumps of prairie grass or dry leaves on the prairie. The female lays four cream colored or pale buff eggs, speckled with dark brown. The color of the birds blends with the prairie grass, making the birds difficult to discover.

The young birds can fly by midsummer, after being born later in spring. They then start to fly south almost at once.