386 



UMlCOLJi:. 



SCOLOPAClDiE. 



SCOLOPACIDjE. 



Tringa minuta, Leisler.* 

 THE LITTLE STINT. 



Tringa minuta. 



The Little Stint, as it is usually called, from its 

 diminutive size, was first mentioned by Pennant as a 

 British bird from a specimen killed in Cambridgeshire. 

 The British Islands evidently lie to the west of the line 

 of migration of the main body, but in varying numbers 

 this species is found on one portion or another of our coasts 

 nearly every autumn, and, occasionally, in spring. Saxby 

 says that Unst, the northernmost of the Shetlands, is visited 

 pretty regularly at the former season, but in the rest of the 

 group, and in the Orkneys, its occurrence is rare ; and, 

 according to Mr. R. Gray, it has only been observed in small 

 numbers down the east coast of Scotland, but not on the 

 west. In England, the eastern side of the island is by far 

 the most favoured ; the autumn arrivals taking place from 

 early in August to the middle of October, after which the 



* Nachtrage zu Bechstein's Naturg. Dentschl. p. 74 (1812). 



