SOLITARY SANDPIPER. 167 



to him the Grasshopper Warbler, but to Adamson's ears, when 

 he heard it in Northumberland, it sounded like the twittering 

 of the Swallow. 



The general plumage resembles that of the Green Sandpiper, 

 but has less gloss, and the white spots are more profuse and 

 larger. The outer primary has a white shaft ; in the Green 

 this is dusky ; the axillaries, as already explained, differ. The 

 spots on the back of the young bird are larger, and the axil- 

 laries are without brown marks. The bill and irides are dark 

 brown. The legs, variously described as clay-coloured, olive, 

 and yellow, were yellowish green in a bird I examined immedi- 

 ately after death. Length, 8*8 ins. Wing, 5 ins. Tarsus, 

 I "5 ins. 



Solitary Sandpiper. Tringa soHtaria Wilson. 



The Sohtary Sandpiper is a small American Green Sand- 

 piper which has occurred about half a dozen times in England 

 and Scotland between the months of July and October as a 

 rule, but it has been reported in April and May. It is the 

 " Wood-Tattler " in some part of America. 



The main points in which this bird differs from ours are 

 that its rump and central tail-coverts are very dark brown, 

 almost black. This character shows when the bird rises, and 

 by it the Duchess of Bedford identified a bird in Kent, which 

 until it rose she thought was a Green. The central tail feathers 

 are olive-black, notched with white along the margins, the 

 outer ones broadly barred with black, and the white bars on 

 the dark axillaries are wider than in the Green. The habits 

 of the bird appear to correspond closely with those of our 

 Green and Wood-Sandpipers. The bill and legs are greenish, 

 and the irides dark brown. Length, 8*25 ins. Wing, 5*2 ins. 

 Tarsus, vi ins. 



