SPOTTED REDSHANK. 523 



triangular spots of pure wliite along the sides of each feather; 

 wing primaries greyish black, without spots ; rump white ; 

 upper tail coverts barred with dusky grey and white ; middle 

 tail feathers plain ash grey, the outer feathers on each side, 

 like the upper tail coverts, are barred with dusky grey and 

 white ; the chin white ; sides and front of the neck white, 

 tinged with ash colour ; breast, belly, vent, and under tail 

 coverts pure white ; flanks slightly tinged and streaked with 

 ash grey ; legs and toes vermilion red, claws black. 



The adult bird in summer has the beak nearly black, but 

 the base of the lower mandible is dark red ; the iridcs dark 

 brown ; over the eye the eyelid is white ; the whole of the 

 head, and the neck all round, sooty black : back, scapulars, 

 all the wing coverts, secondaries and tertials, sooty black, with 

 well defined triangular spots of pure white along the margin 

 of the web of each feather, which is also tipped with white ; 

 the primaries black, with white shafts, but no white spots ; 

 breast and belly black, a few of the feathers with white tips ; 

 under wing coverts white, with dusky grey spots ; axillary 

 plume pure white ; under tail coverts barred black and white ; 

 legs and toes dark red, claws black. 



Males and females do not differ in plumage, but the fe- 

 males are rather larger than the males. An adult male mea- 

 sured in whole length twelve inches and a half ; from the car- 

 pal joint to the end of the wing six inches and a half; the 

 first quill feather the longest in the wing. 



In young birds of the year the plumage on the upper sur- 

 face of the body is tinged with brown, and the white colour of 

 the under surface of the body is clouded with ash grey : the 

 legs orange red. 



The figures given by Montagu and Bewick represent young 

 birds of the year in their first autumn. 



As the white spots on the wings, and the red colour of the 

 legs are permanent in this bird at all ages and seasons, I have 

 preferred calling it the Spotted Redshank. 



