iS4 



British Birds. 



us: it nests throui,'liout the tundra of Xdithern Europe and Siberia. The nest is a 

 depression in the ground, lined with a few dead leaves. The eggs only measure a little 

 over an inch in length ; they are four in number, uniform in shape, of an olive-grey 

 or creamy-brown colour, with distinct chocolate-brown or blackish markings, and 

 underlying spots of light grev. 



The Little Stint. The Americ.^^n Stint. Temminck's Stint. 



THE AMERICAN 



STINT. 

 {Limonitci miiiuiilla.] 



TEMMINCK'S 



STINT. 

 (Llmonites 

 tcmm'inck'i.') 



This is a smaller species than our Little Stint, and has an ashy- 

 brown fore-neck and chest, mottled with dark spots and shaft- 

 streaks. It is a North American species, and has occurred but 

 twice in England, once in Cornwall and once in Devonshire. 



In this little species, which is a smaller and much greyer bird 

 than the foregoing Stints, the outer tail-feathers are pure w liite. 

 It is a migratory visitor to Great Britain, but is a rarer bird than 

 the Little Stint. It breeds on the tundra of Northern Europe 

 and Asia, but does not go so far south in winter, as it does not 

 wander beyond North-eastern Africa and Senegambia, whereas the Little Stint 

 migrates as far as South Africa. Both species visit the Indian Peninsula in winter. 

 Seebohm says that Temminck's Stint is not so exclusively a marine bird as the Little 

 Stint, and the male has quite a song during the breeding-season, not unlike that 

 of a Grasshopper- Warbler. The male is said to hatch out the eggs, which are four 

 in number, rather -smaller than those of 7". m'lnuta, and with the markings less 

 distinct. They measure a little more than an inch in length, but do not reach 

 an inch-and-a-quarter. The nest is a depression in the ground, with a little dry 

 grass for lining, and several are often seen in close proximity. 



In the genus Heteropygia, the general appearance of the 

 birds is like that of the Dunlins, but the bill is shorter than the 

 tarsus, and the latter is longer than the middle toe and claw, in 

 which respect the}' differ from the Stints. This Sandpiper is 

 a North American species, and on migration occurs thoughout 



THE PECTORAL 



SANDPIPER. 



{Hcteropygia 



macitlata.) 



