History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

10* BIRDS. riiESSIUOSTRES. Totanits.Spotted Sandpiper, Penu. Brit. Zool. ii. 463. Bewick, Brit. Birds, ii. 1 1 1.Tot. mac. Temm. Orn. ii. 656—A rare winter visitant. Probably onlya straggler.Length 8 inches. Bill black, reddish towards the base. Feet flesh-coloured.Irides brown. Lores brown, with a white stripe above. Plumage, above,greyish-brown, with a tinge of olive, with streaks of black on the head andneck, and triangular black spots on the back in zig-zag bars. Below white, theends of each feather having a rounded black spot these marks are :producedon the belly. Quills dusky, the secondaries tipped with white. Hump plain.Tail-feathers, in the middle, greenish-brown, the side ones white, with duskybars and dark tips —So rare is this bird in England, that Edwards and Bewickonly have succeeded in procuring it. Its history is still involved in muchobscurity.143. T. Hypoleucos. Common Sandpiper.— Plumage, beneath,uniformly white ; the four middle tail-feathers plain.Tringa minor, Will. Orn. 223 Tr. Hyp. Linn. Svst. i. 250. Penn. Brit.Zool. ii. 470 —Tot. Hyp. Temm. Orn. ii. 657-— W, Pibydd y tracth ;S, Killileepie Breeds on the margin of streams. Common.Length 8, breadth 16 inches ; weight 2 ounces. Bill 1 \ inches long, dusky.Legs dusky with a tinge of green toes flat below, ;slightly margined, webbedat the base of the first joint. Irides hazel. Plumage, above, bi"*wn, glossedwith olive, with a black streak in the middle of each feather ; the wing-coverswith minute undulated lines. A white spot above the eyes. Neck withbrown streaks. Quills dusky the first ; plain the second and nine ; followingwith a M'hite spot on the inner web ; the rest with a white band across bothwebs. Tail fan-shaped, the four middle feathers like the back, slightly clouded; the four on each side tipped with white, and spotted on the webs Nestof dry leaves, under a bank. Eggs 5, dirty white, marked with numerousdusky and cinereous spots, chiefly at the larger end. Young with the marginof the feathers on the back reddish — This species, as a summer visitant, isextensively distributed on the margins of rivers and lakes during summer.It breed as far to the northward as Caithness, but seems to be wanting inOrkney.144. T. Glottis. Greenshank.— Bill strong, slightly recurved,compressed at the base, higher than broad ; under wingcoverswith brown rays;feet green.220— Pluvialis major, Will. Orn. Scolopax glottis, Linn. i.Syst. 245.Pe?m. Brit. Zool. ii. 445 Tot. Glot. Temm. Orn. ii. 659.—A wintervisitant.Length 14, breadth 24 inches ; weight 6 oz. Bill 1\ inches long, dusky;legs slender, green. Irides hazel. Plumage, above, brownish-black, on thehead marked with black and white rays ; a white circle round the eyes ; backand scapulars deep black, the former with white edges, the latter with whitespots. Beneath white, with oval spots on the breast. Wing-covers reddish -ash,with black stripes. Quills 26, dusky, inner webs spotted with white. Undercovers with brown rays. Tail white, the two middle feathers cinereous, withbrownish bands. Lower part of the back and rump white. In winter, thespots on the breast are indistinct, and the back has a brownish tinge Nestunknown Frequents the sea-coast in small flocks.Montagu (Suppl. Orn. Diet.) has offered a conjecture, which appears veryprobable, that the Cinereous Godwit of Pennant (Brit. Zool. ii. 444.), the Scolopaxcanescens of Gmelin, is merely a variety of the Greenshank. Pennantsays, " The bill was two inches and a half long. The head, neck, and backvariegated with ash colour and white: the tail slightly barred with cinereous.The throat and breast white; the last marked with a few ash-coloured spots.The legs long, slender, and ash-colourcd. This was about the size of my