150 BRITISH BIRDS. 



eastern counties, -wlience the greater number pass on to their breeding- 

 grounds in Northern p]urope ; but a few retire to the mountain-lochs of 

 Scotland to breed. It is a well-known bird in Ireland ; but though the 

 country seems well adapted to it, it has not yet been found nesting there. 

 Its breeding-places in Scotland are local and chiefly situated in the High- 

 lands and in the Hebrides ; but it nests as far south as the counties of 

 Perth and Argyle. 



The geographical distribution of the Greenshank very closely resembles 

 that of the Dusky Redshank ; but in the west the breeding-range extends 

 further south, and in the east not nearly so far north, whilst the winter 

 range is somewhat greater. The Greenshank has not been recorded from 

 Greenland, Iceland, or the Faroes; but it is a regular summer visitor 

 to the fells of Norway, Sweden, and Lapland. In the valleys of the 

 Petchora and the Obb it appears to breed from lat. 60° to lat. 06°, which 

 is probably its summer range throughout Siberia, as it only passes through 

 Lake Baikal and the valley of the Amoor on migration ; and MiddendorfE 

 did not find it on the tundras, but only on the Stanavoi mountains *. It 

 passes along the coasts of Europe and Eastern Asia, including the 

 Japanese islands, on migration, as well as the recognized inland routes, 

 and winters in the basin of the Mediterranean, on tlie coasts of Africa as 

 far south as the Cape, in India, Ceylon, Burma, China, the Malay archi- 

 pelago, and Australia. The winter range of this species is very extended, 

 stragglers having occurred on Mauritius, Norfolk Island, in Chili, at 

 Buenos Ayres, and in Florida. The Greenshank has no nearer allies than 

 the Redshank and the Marsh- Sandpiper. 



The Greenshank begins to leave its winter-quarters in the basin of the 

 Mediterranean early in spring. It passes Malta and South Russia in 

 IMarch, France in April, and arrives on the British coasts at the end of 

 that month and early in INIay, and Collett says that it arrives in South Sweden 

 in the last half of May. The autumn migration begins in August in 

 Holland, and in September in England, lasting throughout those two 

 months and even until early in October. Stragglers have been known to 

 remain during the winter on our coasts ; but this is very excej)tional. 



The summer-haunts of the Greenshank are on the mountain-heaths, on 

 the broad moors Avhich are studded with lochs and interlaced with streams 

 and pools. On its arrival in this country it frequents the coast for a short 

 time, shoAving preference for shores that are low and muddy ; but it soon 

 leaves for its summer-quarters amongst the hills. Both in spring and 

 autumn it sometimes congregates into small flocks ; but it is more often 

 seen in pairs. It is a very graceful active bird, and runs over the mud- 



* It is impossible to accept Severtzow's statement that this bird breeds iu Turkestan ; it 

 may do so at a higli elevation, but certainly not in the cultivated region which Severtzow 

 assigns as its breeding-range. 



