PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 457 



There is no seasonal change of coloration, and the female is larger than the male. 

 Length male, 16 in. [406-4 mm.] ; female, 18 in. [457-2 mm.]. (PL 119.) The colora- 

 tion of the upper parts differs from that of the curlew in having pale supraorbital 

 and median bands on the crown, and the pale margins and bars of the mantle greyer 

 and less sharply denned, while all the tail feathers are pale brown barred with 

 darker brown. The under parts differ mainly in that the bars of the hinder flank 

 feathers are more pronounced and the axillaries more barred. The beak is of a dark 

 horn colour, the legs and toes dull slate-grey, the iris hazel. The juvenile plumage 

 differs from that of the adult rather more markedly than is the case with the 

 young curlew, the interscapulars and scapulars, and the long inner secondaries 

 being dark brown, spotted along their margins with buff, while the ground-colour 

 of the wing-coverts is buff, not white, and the rump is more or less distinctly 

 striated. The young in down are hardly distinguishable from those of the curlew, 

 but have the upper parts more distinctly striated, especially on the head and 

 neck. [w. P. p.] 



2. Distribution. In the British Isles the whimbrel is only known to nest 

 on some of the Scottish islands. In the Outer Hebrides one or two pairs apparently 

 breed on N. Rona, and it has been observed in summer in the Uists. It is only 

 found in small numbers on the Orkneys, but in the Shetlands, though very local, 

 it is not uncommon in certain localities, especially on Hascosay. Outside the 

 British Isles it breeds on the Faeroes and Iceland. On the Continent it nests on 

 the f jelds of Scandinavia from Jaederen to Finmark in Norway, and from Jemtland 

 to the Lapland border in Sweden ; while in Russia it breeds in Northern Finland, 

 rarely in the Dwina valley, and commonly in the governments of Kazan, Samara, 

 Ufa, Perm, and Orenburg. Buturlin adds that it is said to nest in Pskov, and 

 possibly also south to Voronesh, Kieff, and the middle Ural valley. In Siberia 

 it is found in Tobolsk and east to Tara, but in E. Siberia is replaced by an allied 

 form. A few pairs are also said to breed sporadically in Pomerania and E. Prussia. 

 On emigration it occurs through Europe, and winters in South-western Asia east 

 to India and Burma, Madagascar, and tropical and South Africa, where it has 

 been recorded south to Cape Colony. The eastern race migrates through South- 

 east Asia to Australia. As a casual it has occurred on Jan Mayen, Greenland, 

 Madeira, the Azores, and Canaries. [F. c. B. j.] 



3. Migration. Chiefly a bird of passage to our coasts, but also a summer 

 visitor in small numbers (cf. preceding paragraph) ; a few may sometimes remain 

 during the winter. In Ireland some of the great lakes and bogs are regularly 



