THE GREEN-LEGGED TATTEERS. 29 1 



length, 9'3 inches; cuhnen, 1-4; wing, 5-4 ; tail, 2-15 ; tarsus, 



I"2. 



Adult Female in Breeding Plumage. — Does not differ from the 

 male in colour, but is not t^uite so strongly marked. Total 

 length, 9 inches ; wing, 5 "6. 



Young in Autumn Plumage. — Scarcely differs from the winter 

 plumage of the adult, but, when freshly moulted, it has indis- 

 tinct margins of ashy-bronze on the feathers of the upper sur- 

 face; the tail-bands are narrower on the centre feathers of 

 the upper surface, while the sub-terminal band is broader than 

 in the adults. 



Range in Great Britain.— The present species is not known to 

 breed within our Hmits, but is noticed during migration, being 

 most commonly observed in the autumn. It is rarer on our 

 western coasts than in the eastern counties, and in Ireland 

 occurs chiefly during the autumn migration. 



Range outside the British Islands. — The Green Tattler, or Green 

 Sandpiper, as it is usually called, breeds throughout the nor- 

 thern parts of the Old World, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 

 and is found from the Arctic Circle to most parts of Northern 

 Europe, being known to nest from Holstein to Northern Ger- 

 many, Poland, and Central Russia. In winter it visits Africa, 

 India, and China, but in many parts of its northern range a few 

 individuals remain during the cold season. 



Habits. — This species is generally met with singly, at least 

 on the river Thames, where I have procured a few specimens, 

 young birds in autumn plumage. On the south coast of Eng- 

 land I have met with it in small parties, frequenting, throughout 

 the autumn, the muddy dykes in the vicinity of our southern 

 harbours. It is, according to my experience, a singularly shy 

 bird, and one which needs most careful stalking, whether by 

 the river-side or in the mud-gullies near the sea-shore. It flies 

 off with a note very much like that of the Summer-Snipe, but 

 the flight is more steady, and not of such a " skimming " char- 

 acter as that of the last-named bird. In fact, in its ways it 

 more resembles a Red-shank than a Summer-Snipe. "Its 

 note," says Seebohm, "is very soft and musical, not nearly so 

 loud as that of the Red-shank, and may be represented by the 



u 2 



