6lO GREEN SANDPIPER. 



mountain ranges, while from July onwards it visits the rest of that 

 continent and the Malay Archipelago. There are two specimens in 

 the British Museum labelled respectively " Hudson Bay " and 

 " Halifax, Nova Scotia." 



The remarkable nesting-habits of the Green Sandpiper were first 

 brought before the notice of the majority of British readers by Prof. 

 Newton (P. Z. S. 1863, pp. 529-532) ; but an intimation of the bird's 

 preference for trees had been given in 'Naumannia' for 1851-52, 

 and Forester Hinz had communicated full details (J. f. O. 1862, 

 p. 460) respecting its nidification, observed in Pomerania from 181 8 

 onward. As already stated, the Wood-Sandpiper shows a similar 

 taste in Siberia. The eggs, sometimes laid as early as April i6th, 

 have often been found in old squirrels' dreys, or the nests of 

 Song- and ]\Iistle-Thrushes, Blackbirds, Jays and Ring-Doves ; occa- 

 sionally on the ground, or on moss-covered stumps, broken-down 

 trees, and spines heaped upon branches of firs — at elevations reach- 

 ing to 35 feet, but always in proximity to pools. The eggs are pale 

 greenish-grey, with small purplish-brown spots, and are normally 

 4 in number ; though, as is the case with some other waders, 7 have 

 been found together, doubtless the produce of two females : 

 measurements i"55 by I'l in. The Green Sandpiper frequents 

 woodland streams and ponds, peaty swamps and meadow-drains, 

 rather than the vicinity of the sea, while it is generally observed 

 alone or in pairs, and at most in family parties. It is an extremely 

 wary bird, and frequently shifts its feeding-grounds for no assignable 

 reason. The flight is rapid and glancing ; the note is a shrill 

 tid-tid-tui. The food consists chiefly of insects, small red worms 

 and fresh-water snails ; the flesh has a disagreeable musky odour, 

 like that of the preceding species. 



The adult is larger than the Wood-Sandpiper, and is rather 

 greener in tint, with fewer spots on the upper parts, and with whiter 

 upper tail-coverts which are very conspicuous in flight ; belly and 

 under tail-coverts pure white. The central tail-feathers have broad 

 black bars, and the axillaries are brownish-black, with narrow angular 

 bars of white: distinctive characters which are figured on p. 612. 

 Length 9-5 in. ; wing 5-5 in. The young show less of the metallic- 

 green sheen on the upper parts, while the spots are less plentiful 

 and not so purely white. 



The Green Sandpiper has only one large notch on each side of 

 the posterior margin of the sternum, and was therefore placed in a 

 separate genus, Helodromas, by Kaup, who further created Rhya- 

 cophiliis for the Wood-Sandpiper. 



