Some particulars of the habits of this bird, as observed
by the late Mr. Hoy, and comWPPieated to Mr. Hewitsoq; are
thus detailed in his work on the Eggs -of British Birds
“ This species is migratory, making' its appearance in April
and retiring in September. That it breeds rather early I
infer from having met with the young, feathered, and capable
of flying a short distance, op the 11th of June. Fregret
that I did not discover the bird till late in the season, t
“ A great poyfiop Hutch Brabant, more particularly;the
southern and eastern parts, areceiemd-bylarge tracts
heath; the soil of- a light sandy nature. A great number
of peat bogs' andf* shallow pools- of .water are - dispersed ’-over
this district. Most of the small streams are—skirted by
swampy ground, where the bog myrtle grows in the greatest
luxuriance, with stunted; bushes of alder and willow; These
situations are the fiayopr||^hll|nt Sandpiper iliaing
the breeding-season. While $he - ben bird is ■ sitting,
male flies round ip wide, circles, and at a considerable,
elevation. The female sifs close ; and the nest is extremely
difficult to. find.
- ‘*It,is far from being numerous in-the localities where I
met;with it j yet 'many'pairs are .dispersed ever,’these'districts,
where they have-, ïpfpg*r hcen known.tO’ breed, from Information:
whiph^feohtalned from:,se^|ftllf injtelligPnt sportsmen,
to wh©m: the-; bird was well known. Although I met
with the young.in a downy state, and partially feathered, I
only obtained' onefnestwitb eggjg., 'Thé ne$to4|_ gêaêmlly
placed-at a short distance'from the Water' among, jtunted
heath, or ■ scrubby- plants of;, the.1 b4 gv,inyrtle, 1. or—&mong
coarse grass and rushes, It ig^ placed- in a hpll^F, and is
formed of dry grass and other .plants* The eggs are* four
in number,”
An egg,of the Wood Sandpiper, given to the Author by
the lat& Richard Dann, whpj, obtained: it in Norway, measured
1*§ by hï4n. j pointed in shape*, of a pale.-gfgee^ihrwhitf^
spotted and speckled, particularly over «the,’broad end, with
dark l^eddish-brp/wn.,
The Wood Sandpiper has frequently been observed to
f&rfch on bushes, trees, and staked/' and in the pairing-
season it indulges in ‘-play’ after the manner of the Common
Snipe, producing a similar Jbremnlbus sound. Its
call-note is likened by Mr.Wplley to legro, , hexo, and by
Meyer to m tril, teatHl; the alarm being gvff, faff. The food
of thiA^pecies consists of worms, insects and their larvae,
and- small mollusks ; and Mr. Cfillfett has remarked a musky
odour in those he shot, similar to that already mentioned as
observed in the -’Green Sandpipers'
, This bird is a little smaller than the Green Sandpiper)
and has a proportionately shorter hill and longer tarsus ; the
beak greenish-black, except" at the bate >6f "the -l’oWer mandible,
Which % pMfo "brOwn the irides dusky-brown ; from the
base of rfhb upper mandible to the, eye a dusky patch ; over
that and'over the ear-coverts; a white streak ; the top of the
he'ad, and hack of the neck, wihg-coverts," and - terMals,
greenish-brown*,' eaOh ffeather m'afgihed with btfffy^white
spots, which*are elongated *ahd well-defined in the young,,
smaller and triangular in the adult#’ primaries uniform
greenish-blacky 'thb shaft of the diftbr ones white, not dusky
as infthe* Green * Sandpiper ; upper -tail-coverts-white, sometimes
spotted with dark brown, especially in adult Siberian
examples; outside ta£Ufathers w h i t e , w i t h brown on
"both webs in the young: spotted ijjther than barred on the
outer w o b b ly , ip the adultsskihe remaining tail-feathers
more distinctly barred, bpt the ground-colour of the two
central ones becoming"-dusky towards the t-ip^ehin white;
«Sites of th e heck, -throat, and -breast, streaked downwards
with ash-brown lines on a ground of dull greyish-white;
belly, vent, and under tail-eovertsf white; sides, axillary
plume, and under ■ wing-egye^^,, white, with a few transverse
•husky bars ; legs., Apes, and cl|w^y^|o|ish-olive.
The-whole length Jig not quite nine’ inches- From the
carpal joint t i t h # ||n ^ f the first quill-feather, which is the
^longest in the wing, pvpuMhes.
In'the nestling the erownf# covered with a dark brown
cap, slightly paler in the ee^-tre 5 ^he dark streaks through
each eye unite at the nape, hut are, separated from the croym