l6o THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



a bird on a Cheshire reservoir chasing the small silvery fry of 

 some fresh-water fish, and catching one at nearly every rush 

 through the shallows. 



The nest is a slight structure, little more than a depression in 

 the turf, amongst rocks, in heather, or open grass-land, but 

 usually near water. The four buft", beautifully marked eggs 

 (Plate 154) are a temptation to collectors ; they are generally 

 laid in May. The young in down are light buff, blotched and 

 streaked with black. The anxious parent reveals the presence 

 of young by flying round with wild cries, or, like the Redshank, 

 perches on a mound or rock and keeps up a continuous 

 mournful warning note. 



In summer the grey head is streaked with dark brown, the 

 mantle is blackish, the rump white, and the tail is mottled and 

 barred with brown, but never so distinctly as that of the 

 Redshank. The under parts are white, wdth ashy streaks and 

 spots on the breast and flanks. The bill is blackish, the legs 

 are olive-green, and the irides dark brown. The whole of the 

 upper parts are greyer in winter, and the under parts are a 

 purer white. Young birds have hght-brown or buff fringes 

 to the feathers of the back and mantle, and the flanks and 

 breast are lined with blackish grey. Length, 13 ins. Wing, 

 7'5 ins. Tarsus, 2*25 ins. 



Common Sandpiper. Tri?iga hypokitca Linn. 



The Common Sandpiper (Plate 61) is a summer visitor to 

 the British Isles, usually arriving in April, rarely at the end of 

 March, and generally leaving in September. It breeds through- 

 out Europe and northern Asia, and winters further south, 

 occasionally reaching the Cape, Australia, and Tasmania. It 

 nests abundantly in Scotland and the greater part of Ireland, 

 and in all the northern counties of England, and the whole of 

 Wales, is common, but except in the south-west is best known 

 in southern shires as a passage visitor. 



