TEMMINCK'S STINT 



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by no means a very uncommon visitor to the east coast of England, 

 and has also occurred in the southern and some inland counties and 

 very rarely in the west. In Ireland there is but one, perhaps some- 

 what doubtful, record ; and there appears also to be some degree of 

 doubt attaching to two alleged instances of the occurrence of the 

 species in the north of Scotland. The bird is of the approximate 

 size of the American stint, that is to say, just over 5 inches in total 

 length, and is thus the smallest member, not only of this group of 

 waders, but likewise of the more t}-pical sandpipers which have any 

 claim to be regarded as British. In addition to its inferior size, it 

 is readily distinguished by the fact that the shaft of the first primary 



TK.MMIN'CK S STINT. 



quill alone is white, those of the others being brown, and by the white 

 outer tail-feathers. Although somewhat variable, the summer-plumage 

 has the feathers of the upper-parts generally greyish brown edged with 

 pale rufous chestnut, the middle tail-feathers dark brown, but the three 

 outer ones white ; the white tips to the greater coverts form a bar 

 across the open wing, and the under-parts are like those of the stint. 

 In winter the upper-parts are brownish grey, with dark middles and 

 pale margins to the feathers. Buff margins to- the feathers of the 

 upper-parts, and a buff tinge to the white under-parts, with brown 

 streaks on the breast, distinguish young birds in first plumage from 

 the adult winter-dress. The chick is golden buff, with spots of black 

 above and a dark stripe down the back, and a buff tinge on the white 

 lower surface. Like the stint, this species nests in the Arctic districts 

 of Europe and Asia ; the breeding-range in this instance extending 



