NESTS AXD EGGS Of AUSI'RAr.lA.V B//!DS. 815 



is foiumon to Axistralia in general, and Tasmania,* frequenting the 

 sandy banks oi rivers ;uid lakes, and is particularly fond of niollusca and 

 cnistacea found on the mud flats at the estu;uies of rivei-s at low tide, 

 where the Greenshank is often seen Lti smaE flocks in company with 

 Cm'lews. Whimbrels, &c. Tlxe bird's name, Greenshank, at once betrays 

 its identity, for its stilt-like shanks are gi-eenish in coloiu', while its 

 plumage is beautiful, being greyish mottled on the back, with nunp, 

 tail, and most of the imderncath parts pvu'e white. The eyes and bill 

 (which is 2j inches in length) ar-e dark. The total length of the bird 

 is 14 inches. 



According to Colonel Legge, tlie Greenshank breeds in May and June. 

 On tlie 12th of the fonner month Micldendoi-ff foimd it already at its 

 breeding haunts in North-eastei-n Siberia, and its eggs were taken by 

 Seebohm and Harvie-Brown on the Petchora on the 11th June. 



629. — Bartramia longicauda, Bechstehi. — (514) 

 BARTRAM SANDPIPER. 



Figure. — Gould : Birds of Australia, fol., supp , pi. 77. 

 Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. .Mus., vol. xxiv., p. 509. 

 Previous Descriftiom of E^gs. — V arious. 



Geogra phical Distrihution. — South Queensland, New South Wales, 

 Victoria and South Australia, migrating across Oceania to North 

 America ; also visits South America, and accidental tO' Europe. 



Nfst. — Upon the ground on a gi'assy plain or pa.stnre. 



Ei/tju. — Clutch, foiu' to five ; pyrifonn in shape ; texture of shell 

 comparatively fine ; surface slightl)' glossy ; colour, warm, stony-grey, 

 blotched and spotted, especially on the larger end, with imiber and grey. 

 Not milike in appearance those of the Common Sandpiper (Tringoidex 

 liypohucus), onlv double the size. Dimensions in inches of a proper 

 clutch: (1) 1-75 X 1-28, (2) 1-72 X 1-29, (3) 1-69 x 1-36, (4) 1-65 x 1-3. 



Oh.tervrifinns. — This is a tall, gaunt bird, about 12 inclies in length, 

 and it is of interest, because it wanders to us from the sonthem provinces 

 of Canada and the northern portions of the United States. It has 

 been procured in nearly all oiu- Slates. In Victoria, Cormt Castelnau, 

 so Dr. Ramsay says, obtained his specimen in the Melbomme market. 



Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, in " Water-Birds of North America," 

 mention tlie Bai-tram Sandpiper as " breeding over Canada and United 

 States from Pennsylvania northwards, more commonly in the Interior. 

 A nest found at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, wa.s a mere depression in a 



' The first Greenshank from Tasmania was reported to have been shot by Mr. 

 J. Carr, Launceston, on the mud flats of the Tamar, 1892. I believe other birds 

 have since been noted 



