THE COMMON REDSHANK 269 



searches for food in the shallow drains), moss-covered stones in 

 rivers, the shallow banks of lakes, and the flat marshy places inter- 

 sected by drains, which in low countries often skirt the seashore. 

 Its food consists of small worms and the larvae and pupae of the 

 countless insects which spend their lives in such localities. It may 

 be presumed, too, that many a perfect winged insect enters into its 

 dietary, for its activity is very great. Even when its legs are not 

 in motion, which does not often happen, its body is in a perpetual 

 state of agitation, the vibration of the tail being most conspicuous. 



Sandpipers do not congregate like many others of the Waders ; 

 they come to us generally in pairs, and do not appear to flock to- 

 gether even when preparing to migrate. The nest is a slight de- 

 pression in the ground, most frequently well concealed by rushes 

 or other tufted foliage, and is constructed of a few dry leaves, 

 stalks of grass, and scraps of moss. The Sandpiper lays four eggs, 

 which are large, and quite disproportionate to the size of the bird. 

 Indeed, but for their peculiar pear-shaped form, which allows of 

 their being placed so as to occupy a small space with the pointed 

 ends all together, the bird would scarcely be able to cover them. 

 The parent bird exhibits the same marvellous sagacity in diverting the 

 attention of an intruder from the young birds to herself, by counter- 

 feiting lameness, which has been observed in the Plovers. The young 

 are able to run within a very short time after exclusion from the 

 egg, there being an instance recorded in the Zoologist of a gentleman 

 having seen some young birds scramble away from the nest while 

 there yet remained an egg containing an unhatched chick. Early, 

 too, in their life they are endowed with the instinct of self-preserva- 

 tion, for Mr. Selby states that if discovered and pursued before 

 they have acquired the use of their wings, they boldly take to the 

 water and dive. 



The Sandpiper is found in all parts of Europe and Asia, but not 

 in America. 



THE COMMON REDSHANK 



TOTANUS CALIDRIS 



U'inler — upper plumage ash-brown ; throat, sides of the head, streak over 

 the eye, neck, and breast, greyish white ; rump, belly, and abdomen, 

 white ; tail marked transversely with black and white zigzag bars, tipped 

 with white ; feet and lower half of both mandibles red. Stmimcr — 

 upper feathers ash-brown, with a broad dusky streak in the centre ; 

 under parts white, spotted and streaked with dusky ; feet and lower half 

 of both mandibles vermilion red. Length ten to eleven inches. Eggs 

 greenish yellow, blotched and spotted with brown. 



The Redshank is a bird of frequent occurrence on all such parts 

 of the coast as are suited to its habits. Nowhere, I suppose, is it 

 more abundant than on the coast of Norfolk — at least, on those parts 



