884 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
on the upper surface are probably more numerous 
than in the adult. 
Meyer describes the eggs as greenish olive, with 
very dark markings or spots. 
Common Sanpvrirer, Totanus hypoleucos. The 
Common Sandpiper, or “Summer Snipe,” as it is 
perhaps more generally called, is a much more 
numerous and regular summer visitor than the last 
species. It arrives here about the middle of April 
(my own earliest note of its arrival is the 12th of 
April), from which time to the middle of May one or 
two of these birds always frequent the banks of my 
pond, and then disappear for a short time, after 
which they return with their young broods, probably 
in the meantime seeking some more retired situation 
for nesting purposes, and perhaps some place where 
they are less exposed to the attacks of the Pied 
Wagtails, who for some reason or other bully them 
most unmercifully, mobbing them as if they were 
Hawks. 
The nest is usually placed on the ground amongst 
rushes or thickish grass, or amongst the roots of 
trees, and sometimes perhaps in a hole in a loosely 
built stone wall,* and is made of moss and a few 
dry leaves. Yarrell adds that the nest is occasion- 
ally found in a corn-field, if near enough to the 
water. 
* ‘ Zoologist’ for 1866 (Second Series, p. 440). 
