PLOVERS, GULLS, AND AUKS 79 



Sandpiper (Plate XV. fig. 6). In winter ash-grey above and white 

 below, this bird, in the early spring, assumes a very richly coloured 

 livery, the upper parts being beautifully barred and streaked with 

 black and grey, on a ground-work of rich chestnut, while the under 

 parts are of a chestnut-red, slightly barred in the flanks with dark 

 brown and grey. The females, as in the Plovers generally, resemble 

 the males, and are slightly larger. 



The Curlew Sandpiper (or Pigmy Curlew as it is often called, 

 because of the likeness of its beak to that of a Curlew) is an annual 

 visitant to Great Britain, arriving chiefly in the autumn, and for the 

 most part favouring our eastern shores. This autumn immigra- 

 tion consists chiefly of young birds ; but small numbers of adults 

 arrive each spring in their full breeding-colours, and these birds, 

 which arrive in March, continue to pass northwards, along the east 

 coast of England, until June. They are then making their way to 

 their breeding-grounds within the Arctic Circle. Only on very rare 

 occasions does the Curlew Sandpiper visit the United States. 



Like the Curlew Sandpiper, the Knot and the Sanderling have 

 a red breeding-plumage. 



The Knot (Plate XV. fig. 8) is the largest of these three species, 

 measuring lo inches in length. In winter grey above and white 

 below, it assumes in the spring a very handsome dress. The head 

 and neck are reddish brown, with dark streaks, the back-feathers 

 are blackish, spotted with chestnut and margined with white, while 

 the throat and breast are of a rich, dark chestnut. 



Until a few years ago the breeding-place of the Knot was un- 

 known. It was, however, discovered breeding in the snow by Colonel 

 Fielden when on the '' Alert " Arctic Expedition in 1876. But on 

 this occasion nestlings only were found. The eggs were unknown 

 until the year 1901, when specimens were found in the Taimyr 

 Peninsula, Siberia. 



In America this bird is well known along the Atlantic sea-board, 

 as well as on the great lakes and the Mississippi valley. 



The Sanderling (Plate XV. fig. 9) is peculiar in that, like some 

 others of the Plover tribe, it has lost the hind-toe. In its autumn 

 and winter dress this bird is grey above and white below ; but during 

 the summer months the feathers of the upper parts have dark brown 



