326 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



shy, and I experienced no difficulty in approaching well within 

 gunshot of the birds. 



If not shot at on being first put up, a flock will wheel round and 

 return to the same spot after a short while. The flight of the species 

 is fairly swift and powei-ful. Its food consists mainly of worms, 

 insects and their larvae. The bird is a silent one, as a rule, but 

 when on the wing, and particularly on migration, it utters a low 

 soft note. 



The Euff is polygamous, and its habits during courtship are 

 singularly interesting. One of the most vivid descriptions of these, 

 and of the breeding habits generally of this remarkable bird, is to be 

 found in a communication by Wolley to Hewitson (Eggs of Brit. Birds, 

 Ed. III. p. 346). In Montagu's "Ornithological Dictionary" (1813) 

 most interesting and exhaustive details are also to be found regarding 

 the habits of the Ruff, and especially concerning the former netting 

 of the bird in England. 



CALIDRIS ARENARIA (Linnteus. 

 SANDERLING. 



Tringa arenaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 251 (1766). 



Calidris arenaria, Illiger, Prodromus, p. 249 (1811) ; Loche, Ex})!- Sci. 



Alg. Ois. ii, p. 303 (1867); Koenig, J. f. 0. 1888, p. 265; id. J.f. 0. 



1893, p. 91 ; Whitakcr, Ibis, 1896, p. 98 ; Shaiye, Cat. Birds Brit. 



Mus. xxiv, p. 526 ; Erlanger, J. f. 0. 1900, p. 63. 



Description. — Adult, autumn, from Nortli Tunisia. 



Upper plumage whitish-grey, the feathers of the crown and l)ack with 

 blackish centres ; quills dark brown, with wliite shafts ; under parts white, 

 the sides of the breast slightly marked with grey and brown ; hind-toe 

 wanting. 



Iris brown ; bill and feet blackish. 



Total length 7 inches, wing 4-80, culnien 1, tarsus 1. 



Sexes alike. 



In summer the adult has the upper plumage rufous, with black centres 

 to the feathers, and the breast pale rufous. 



The Sanderling, like the Ruff, is the only species of its genus, and 

 seems to form a connecting link between the closely allied genera 



