BLACK-BREASTED SANDPIPER. 207 



Female in Summer. — The female is similar to the male, 

 but with the black patch on the breast less extended. 



A further change takes place, for, like the Ptarmigan, 

 this bird seems to be in moult all the year round. After the 

 end of July, the feathers of the breast, of which the terminal 

 portion is black, are substituted by others having a much 

 smaller portion of their extremity of that colour. In the? 

 beginning of September the grey feathers, characteristic of 

 the winter plumage, appear here and there, and by degrees 

 the whole plumage is renewed. 



Habits. — In the end of August or the beginning of 

 September, the Dunlins make their appearance on our shores 

 in flocks, which are of various sizes, from a few individuals 

 to several hundreds. At high water they generally betake 

 themselves to the headlands, or rest on the sands ; but when 

 the tide recedes they are all in motion. Their flight is very 

 rapid, being performed by regularly-timed beats of the wings, 

 with occasional intermissions. It is seldom that they fly in 

 a direct course, but even in proceeding from one place to 

 another in search of food they wheel off to sea, and often 

 perform various evolutions before alighting. Now they are 

 seen stretching away over the waves, at one time scarcely 

 discernible on account of the distance and their dusky 

 colour, but next moment glancing in the light, as they 

 simultaneously turn their lower surface to the view. In this 

 respect, however, they are not singular, the Sanderlings and 

 Ring-Plovers exhibiting the same alternate exposure of the 

 upper and lower surfaces, as they wheel over the sea or 

 along the beaches. On alighting the Dunlins stand for a 

 few moments, then disperse, and commence probing the 

 sands, in which they engage with so much earnestness that 

 one may sometimes get quite close to them. On the sands 

 of the Hebrides I have sometimes found them so unsus- 

 picious as to allow me to walk round them at a distance, in 

 order to drive them together before shooting ; but in places 

 where they are much disturbed, they are usually very shy. 

 Their food consists of small bivalve testacea, worms, and 

 other diminutive marine animals, as well as coleopterous 



