LITTLE STINT. 379 



dom. When flushed (which is never until you nearly tread 

 upon it), it rises with a faint single call note, flies for a 

 short distance, then suddenly drops, and it is difficult to rise 

 it a second time. The nest which I found was on a tussock 

 of grass, in a large fell meadow half way up to my knee in 

 water. The eggs were four, very pyriform. Ground colour 

 grey-brown, covered all over with minute spots of light 

 umber brown, nearly hiding the ground colour ; size 1-] in. 

 by |- in. There is a particular character about the egg, as 

 well as the bird, which will always distinguish it. 



In June, 1 864, I killed five specimens in a meadow up 

 at Dalby, North Wermland, where they were evidently 

 breeding, although I was unable to find the nest. 



(a). Beak straight, as long as the tarsus. 



203. T. MINUTA, Leisl. Lilla Strandvipan. The Lesser 



Stint. D. F. 



Length 6 in. ; tarsus J in. ; tail with three grey side 

 feathers ; all the wing feathers with white shafts in 

 the middle. Summer dress : upper parts black-brown, 

 with red-brown feather edges, under parts white, 

 breast reddish brown, with black streaks. Winter 

 dress : brown ash grey, with black feather shafts, crown 

 of the head rusty grey, and a brown streak between 

 the beak and eye. 



Is met with on all the Scandinavian coasts in the spring 

 and autumn, but I do not believe any one has yet found 

 out its breeding place in Scandinavia. The egg is figured 

 by Baedeker as considerably larger than that of the Tem- 

 minck's stint. Ground colour light drab, thickly covered 

 with brown spots, especially at the larger end ; of different 

 shades and sizes. Morris's figure rather resembles this, but 

 his egg is smaller. 



Yon Middendorff obtained one nest with four eggs on the 

 River Taimyr, 74 north lat. The egg, according to Mr. New- 

 ton, agrees very much with that of Temminck's stint, which, 

 according to Middendorff, breeds in the same locality, 



