BIRDS. 165 



these were preserved ; one is in the collection of the late 

 Mr. Beckwith, and another at Willey Park. 



Purple Sandpiper. Very rare in Shropshire and has not 

 T. striata. occurred lately. It is of a darker 



colour, has shorter legs than the other 

 Sandpipers, and usually frequents rocky coasts. 



Knot. Another common shore bird that occasionally wanders 

 T. canutus. inland to us. It has occurred on the 



Sept. Apl. Severn at Buildwas, Cressage, Eyton, 



and Uffington having probably follow- 

 ed the course of the river from the estuary. 



RUFF (Fern. Reeve). This beautiful bird, (of which there 

 Machetes pugnax. are some fine specimens in the Shrews- 



bury Museum), is now rare in Britain 

 as a resident. The colouring of the male, with his large 

 ruff, is subject to such variation that no two birds are 

 quite alike in plumage. This ornamentation is only 

 present in the breeding season. The Ruff is only recorded 

 twice in Shropshire : near Melverley in 1861, and Buildwas 

 1867, both during hard frosts. 



Common Sandpiper B. Provincial, Summer Snipe. 



Totanus hypoleucus. The sweet but melancholy pipe of this 



Apl. ii. Sept. iv. little bird may be heard in summer on 



most of our rivers and brooks, especially 



near the Welsh border ; it is uttered as the Sandpiper 



flits along just under the banks, though the bird has, 



besides, a pretty trilling song. It nests regularly near 



Shrewsbury, always close to the water. On June i8th, 



1892, Rev. J. B. Meredith saw a female, near Nesscliff, 



fly along the Severn carrying a young one on its back. 



