OP THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 183 



colour, heavily blotched and spotted with rich dark brown, and a few underlying 

 markings of pale brown. They measure on an average 1'25 inch in length by '87 

 inch in breadth. In this species the female bird is the more brilliant in colour, 

 and she not only conducts the courtship, but leaves the male to incubate the 

 eggs. The young are hatched early in July, and about a month or six weeks 

 after this event the breeding places are deserted, and the birds repair to the open 

 sea, forming into flocks for the winter. 



Diagnostic characters Phalaropus, with the bill short and wide (the 



culmen equal to the metatarsus in length), and the central rectrices more than 

 half an inch longer than the outermost ones. In breeding plumage the entire 

 underparts are rich chestnut. Length, 8 inches. 



