26o Allen's naturalist's library. 



discovered, like the Little Stint, the bird appears to assume an 

 unnatural tameness, walking about and feeding close to the 

 observer. The nest is often in longish sedge or rushes, and 

 less frequently in short grass." The male is said to be the 

 parent which hatches the eggs. 



Eggs. — Four in number. As a rule paler than in Z. minuta^ 

 and with the markings rather smaller and less distinct. The 

 ground-colour varies from a coffee-brown to a greyish or olive 

 stone-colour. The spots are reddish-brown or dull chestnut, 

 sometimes very minute, in the case of the stone-coloured eggs, 

 but in other instances the markings are bolder and somewhat 

 confluent towards the larger end of the egg. The large spots are 

 often distributed over the egg in equal variety, and the under- 

 lying spots are grey, and are often as prominent as the over- 

 lying ones. Axis, i'o5-i'2 inch; diam., o'75-o'8. 



THE SANDERLINGS. GENUS CALIDRIS. 



Calidris, IHiger, Prodromus, p. 249 (181 1). 



Type, C. ai'eiiaria (Linn.). 



The well-known Sanderling is the single representative of the 

 genus Calidris, which may be described as a three-toed Sand- 

 piper, for it belongs to the same group as the Stints and Pectoral 

 Sandpipers, but is distinguished from all of them by the absence 

 of the hind-toe. The bill is somewhat stout, and the culmen 

 is about equal in length to the tarsus. The range of the genus 

 will be found in detail below under the heading of the species. 



I. THE sanderling. CALIDRIS ARENARIA. 



Tringa arenaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 251 (1766). 



Calidris arenaria^ Macgill. Brit. B. iv. p. 237 (1852) ; Dresser, 



B. Eur. viii. p. loi, pis. 559, 560 (1877); B. O. U. List 



Brit. B. p. 172 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarrell's Brit. B. 



iii. p. 420 (1883); Seebohm,Hist. Brit. B.iii. p. 221 (1885); 



Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 583 (1889); Sharpe, Cat. B. 



Brit. Mus. xxiv. p. 526 (1896). 



Adult Male in Winter Plumage. — General colour above light 

 ashy-grey, with more or less distinct hoary white edgings to the 



