I04 



PLOVER GROUP 



with imperfect black bars ; the back and wing-coverts arc blackish 

 with pale grey margins ; and the secondary quills are brown margined 

 with white, except the long inner ones which are barred with black. 

 In winter the colour is greyish above, and less spotted below. Immature 

 birds resemble the adults in winter-dress, but have tawny margins to 

 the edges of the feathers, and the chest and flanks finely mottled 

 with black. The chick is buff above, streaked along the back with 

 black, with a dark streak before and in front of the e\-e, and a black 

 triangular patch on the crown, the undcr-parts being white. 



iUKKNSllANK. 



Greenshanks, whose presence maj- be recognised b)- the three- 

 syllabled call uttered as a rule when they rise, haunt the margins of 

 bays, estuaries, dykes, etc., and more rarely marshes and rivers. In 

 England they are apparently seen in most cases singly, although in 

 Ireland during winter they associate, as in India, in flocks, which keep 

 much to thcmsehes. They are some of the earliest of the waders to 

 return from the north, both adult and immature birds sometimes making 

 their appearance in Ireland before the end of June, although they are 

 usually somewhat later. From its large size, the usual food of the 

 sandpipers is supplemented in the case of the grcenshank by Noung 

 minnow.s, small frogs, and tadpoles. Always wary, alike in the breeding- 

 season and at other times, these birds are excellent swimmers ; and a 

 specimen pursued by a peregrine falcon has been seen to make good 



