140 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



The plumage o£ the Common Sandpiper is very fine 

 and soft. The bird is rather more than seven inches in 

 length. The top of the head and back of the neck is a 

 greenish-brown, with tints of bluish-grey and dull yellow; 

 and there is across the centre a stripe of greenish-black. 

 The back is a greenish-brown, and the plumage is beauti- 

 fully marked with thin irregular markings of dark brown ; 

 the chin, throat, and lower part of the belly is white, and 

 the upper part of the breast is marked with blackish 

 streaks. The wings are long, having a stretch oE about 

 fourteen inches ; and in summer the feathers of the lesser 

 wing-coverts have a black edging near the tip. The tail 

 is short, and dusky-brown in colour, and is barred with 

 groenish-black ; the toes and legs are pale bluish-green, 

 brown at the joints; claws, a dark brown^ )^ 



