BIRDS OF ICELAND 97 



Sandpiper, has of late years been detected as a straggler 

 to Europe. Now Heria Grondal has recorded T. schinzii 

 from Iceland as having been shot by Preyer (see Beise 

 in loc), but he calls it Tringa schinzii var. Chr. L. Br., 

 which shows that he did not consider Preyer's bird to 

 be the American Bonaparte's Sandpiper. Nevertheless 

 Howard Saunders has taken it to mean the latter, and 

 not the former (see Man. Brit. Birds, p. 567); and 

 T.fuscicollis, to give it its true name, is duly enrolled as 

 a visitor to Iceland. I have every reason for disagreeing 

 with this conclusion. I have specimens of the little 

 Dunlin (called on our east coast the 'Drain Dunlin,' 

 from the places it frequents in preference to the shore) 

 from Iceland, where my experience assures me that it 

 is pretty common. Also, in 1900, Herra Grondal kindly 

 took me to his house and showed me a water-colour of 

 T. schinzii, done by himself, in which the bird was 

 represented with a black breast. Now the 'Drain 

 Dunlin, T. schinzii Br.,' wears a black breast in summer 

 like the ordinary Dunlin ; Bonaparte's Sandpiper does 

 not. Therefore, I must respectfully decline to admit 

 the claims of the latter to a place amongst the birds 

 of Iceland. 



The food of the Dunlin consists of diminutive larva3, 

 Crustacea, insects, vermes, etc. 



