scolopacid;e. 



571 



THE LITTLE STINT. 



Tringa minuta, Leisler. 



The Little Stint arrives on the east side of England every autumn, 

 and again on the passage northward in spring, its numbers on the 

 mud-flats of Norfolk being sometimes considerable ; but on the 

 whole the British Islands appear to lie on the outskirts of the 

 chief line of flight pursued by this somewhat eastern species. On 

 the south coast it is not very common, while westward its occur- 

 rences are decidedly irregular, the sandy flats of Lancashire and 

 of the Solway district being the localities it most affects. Further 

 north it is as yet unknown on the west side of Scotland, while 

 trustworthy evidence is desirable respecting its reported visits to 

 the Orkneys and Shetlands ; it is undoubtedly rare in Sutherland, 

 and even on the east it does not seem to be frequent. According 

 to Mr. More it is to be met with every autumn in Ireland, chiefly 

 along the north-east shore, but is nowhere plentiful. 



On its autumnal migration this species visits the greater \an of 

 Europe, and, except on the west coast of France, it is almost as 

 abundant on the spring passage. It does not appear to winter in any 

 numbers on the northern side of the Mediterranean, though many 

 remain in Morocco, Algeria and Egypt ; but the majority make for 

 the extreme south of Africa, the Seychelles, Arabia, and the entire 

 Indian region, traversing, on their way to the latter, the great 

 ranges of Central Asia. The breeding-grounds of the Little Stint 

 were first discovered by Dr. von Middendorff, as far east as the 



