riancej with stunted bushes- of alder,"and willow. Thesellitu-
ations are the favourite haunt of this Sandpiper daring .the:
breeding season. While the hen*, bird is sitting, the : male,
flies round in wide circles, and at a considerable elevation.;
The fëmale sits close;, and the nestifii extreme^ difficult
to find.
I f you approach the spot when they have yoj&ng', anflT es#
pécially i f a : dogbs with you, iherold birds will fly rhund in.
the most anxious manner, and will .hover over the-dog within
a few feet ; then suddenly darting .off,, mount high in theiaiiy
pouncing down again with great rapidity on the intruder-.*
I f you have observed the .actions and manoeuvres, of ihe^Medk
shankj duringithé .breeding 'season,ûy.o.u will ' ha^iseenvvehyj
much the habits of the* Wood Sandpipeir'.
It is far from being numerous in the ■loeajities'where I met
with it ; yet many pairs are dispex-sed'dver theso.ïdis.tiÎGt's|.
where they have long been-known .to«breed, from information;
whiehH obtained fromcseveral intelligent"sportsmen^’tbojdioim
the bird was well-known;,
. Although I .m i t : with-the-"youhg in avdOw^Mfete/i.-and
partially feathered, I only! obtained rone nest with^gga.-^: The
nest is generally placed at a,short distance from,Jhe.water*
among stunted heathy or scrubby'plants'of the bog-myrtle^-.or
among coarse grass and rushes. It is placed-ima hollow, and
is formed of dry grass and other plants.... The "eggs..are'fiotà
in number. An egg • is figured b y Mr. Bewi tson'imïbik
work.. One ja^Mgf-.jtbevWood «Sandpiper i n my own jcolf
lection measures onè inch seven lines " in length, by one inch
and half a line in breadth -; pointed in shape, of u piale greenish
white, spotted and speckled : particularly-uover the broad
end with dark .reddish brown. This! rare egg. was given me
by Richard Danh, Esq., who obtained two or .three .in :N:or*
way, with the :eggs ,of some other very "rare birds to be here*
after referred to.
- M.1 the Wood Sandpiper is. found occasionally
in Sw$dhn>$! inhabiting swampy woods during summer;
ds^hoo doubt that this-bird breeds every season as
far northas ibhe'A¥ctiCfcircle, both in Norway and Lapland.
The fttod con^fe of worms and insects ; and Mr. Hoy told
pie-he had |s ^ |^ it perchbn ^ ^ vuppcr twigs of a bush, which
appears tdibe the habit .ófi tliMI- Redshank and some Others of
the sam4^nhsW‘-*'
ï The Wood’ Saridpiper in:d©Ae of the provinces of
;0erfnrin^bntiö^^'ta few of these- birds are séen in Holland
or Franl|\|aB4f thehrfri woody marshes.;'- It i^ seen in Pro-:
yeuee£>a“t,Gen©&; and in l.tafl^ Dr. Galvejt- gave, me a spe-
ui^yiRny, -which j i | - obtained in Malta, /; Mr, Selby mentions
having J^^CfSpe^mériS'from the-jSape of Good Hope; and
Dr. AridreWf-,Smith a&so brought specimens tftomjSouth Africa,
In tHek, ëxteristv^|ö|feêtfeh of Sit William Jardine,' Bart, I
saw sfenslrif'this birdlwliich had been received fronl India,
and. Major Franklin- also brought speci-
niM^rj?i0^vd»^^Sd^hp^fe’b f t India* The-7rotanu$--&jfmis..i)$
Dr. ® ^ ^ ^ w in c lu d e d among thê^biëds of Java, is considered
to h & aW f f e S Sandpiper;i and Mr. Go aid mentions
having ^^^^Mri.s-bfikMy>bird from Chili and the Is-
ruafhds Of the Pacific."
This bird is a little smaller than the Green Sandpiper ;
the beak greenish black,1'except' aP%# base, of th e lower man-
diblefffhich is pale^|own; the.hides dusky brown; from the
ibasejof the upper--mandible to the ëyi a- dusky patch; over
that and-oyer the ear-covetts a white streak; the top of the
head, and back ofethe,neck, wingrjcoverts, and tertials, green-
; jsii brown,, each feather with briffy. white spots on the margin,
somelt©f whi% are triangular in-shape, others more elongated;
primaries uniform'greenish black*; upper tail-eoverts white;
tail-feathers with six or more narrow transverse white bars, on
a sround colour of greenish black ; O o chin white; sides of the