33^ 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



Ruff, Shore Sandpiper, Greenwich Sandpiper, Yellow- 

 legged Sandpiper, Equestrian Sandpiper. Sits 

 closely. The males have a curious habit of meet- 

 ing at given places, such as that shown in our 

 first illustration, every morning during the pair- 

 ing season and dancing and fighting until they are 

 selected by the onlooking females as husbands. 



SANDPIPER, COMMON. 



( Totanus hypoleucus.) 

 Order LIMICOL.E ; Family SCOLOPACID^E (SNIPES). 



Description of Parent Birds. 

 Length seven and a half inches. Bill 

 rather long, straight, slender, dark 

 brown towards the tip and lightish 

 brown at the base. Irides dusky 

 brown ; from the base of the beak a 

 light streak runs over the eye and 

 ear-coverts. Crown, back of the 

 neck, back, wing-coverts, and upper 

 tail - coverts greenish - brown, with 

 a line of a darker hue across and down the centre 

 of each feather. Wing-primaries nearly black with 

 dirty white patches on nearly all the inner webs, 

 the secondaries tipped with white. Tail -quills 

 greenish-brown in the centre, barred with greenish- 

 black, the outer webs of the two outside feathers 

 on either side white, barred with greenish-black. 

 Chin, throat, breast, belly, vent, and under tail- 

 coverts white ; sides of the neck and upper portion 

 of the breast duller, and streaked with dark brown 



YOUNG COMMON 

 SANDPIPER. 



