120 BRITISH SEA. BIRDS. 
parties on our eastern and southern coasts; whilst 
the Green Sandpiper (Zo¢anus ochropus) is a less 
frequent visitor still. This species is remarkable 
for its peculiar mode of nesting, for instead of 
laying its eggs upon the ground—as is the almost 
universal custom of birds of this order—it places 
them in the deserted nests of other birds in trees. 
We must also not forget to give a passing reference 
to the singular-looking Ruff (Machetes pugnazx). 
Drainage of the fens has long banished the Ruff 
from its ancestral haunts, where it was once so 
common that a regular trade was carried on in 
netting and fattening it for the table. The Ruff 
takes it name from the singular, yet remarkably 
beautiful, frill of elongated feathers that, during 
the love season, adorns the neck of the male bird. 
The extraordinary variation in the colour of this 
fleeting sexual ornament can only be described 
as marvellous, it being almost impossible to find 
two birds exactly alike. This sexual development 
of feather ornament seems closely associated with 
the polygamous habits of the Ruff; the cock bird 
takes no share in family duties, and during the 
pairing season wages endless battles with his rivals 
for the possession of the hens. Odd birds frequent 
our coasts during the migration periods, and less 
frequently during the winter. Two species of 
Stint—the most diminutive of the Sandpipers— 
also deserve a brief allusion. The first and most 
frequent visitor is the Little Stint (7vznga minuta), 
a ee ee 
