THE \YADEES. 271 



African veldt. Its trivial name is unsatisfactory, as it is 

 slightly larger than Temminck's Stint. 



American Stint. — A very rare straggler, which has been 

 obtained on three occasions — in the south-west. 



A spring and autumn visitor, reported to have wintered 

 §Tem- ^^ Ireland, from arctic regions. There is 



minck's more white in its plumage than in that of 

 S*i^*- the other stints. 



This small visitor on migration, chiefly to the eastern 

 seaboard, may be distinguished by the reddish tinge in the 

 § Curlew underparts and the white on the back. Its 

 Sandpiper, chief resemblance to the curlew, a bird three 

 times its size, lies in the long curved bill. Its flight is 

 rapid; and its egg and breeding - place were, until the 

 present year (1897), unknown. 



An idea prevails among ornithologists that the Purple 



Sandpiper may breed sparingly in the Shetlands. It is 



t Purple seen on our shores in winter, seeking its food 



Sandpiper. ^^ q^, ^q^^ ^^j^q water. The short leers are 



yellow in colour. 



The Knot is a common winter visitor to all our coasts. 

 I have observed that this wader is far less shy when 

 alone, a not uncommon way of finding it, than 

 when in company; and this is characteristic 

 of all gregarious birds, which probably flock for the double 

 object of finding food and being on the alert for enemies. 

 A hundred pairs of eyes and ears can recognise danger, as 

 a hundred bills can find worms, so much sooner than the 

 number allotted to the individual. The antics of the knot 

 at the edge of the receding tide, where it thrusts its long 

 straight bill after the retreating solen, are often very strik- 

 ing, and when it takes flight the mottled under23arts are 

 most conspicuous. The back is black, barred with pale 



