SANDEHLING 309 



is circumpolar in its distribution, and breeds farther north than 

 most of the arctic species. The eggs are greenish buff in ground- 

 colour, spotted with various shades of brown, and have been 

 described as ' miniature curlews' eggs of a pale colour.' After the 

 young have been reared the birds travel south along the shores of 

 Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. On the Pacific coast of America 

 their migration extends from the arctic regions to Patagonia, a 

 journey of nearly eight thousand miles. 



Common Sandpiper. 

 Tringoides hypoleucus. 



Upper parts ash-brown glossed with olive ; chin white ; sides 

 of the neck and breast pale ash with dusk}* streaks ; under parts 

 and tips of outer tail-feathers white. Length, eight inches. 



The common sandpiper, known also as the summer snipe, is a 

 summer visitor, to be met with from April until the end of 

 September in suitable places throughout the British Islands. He 

 is an exceeding lively and restless little bird, running nimbly or 

 flitting along the margin of the water ; when standing, perpetually 

 bobbing his head and jerking his tail, on which account he is named 

 ' fidler ' in some districts ; solitary in habit, or living with his mate 

 only, choosing for a home the most secluded spots by streams and 

 meres. In the southern half of England, where the localities that 

 best suit him are fewest, he is very thinly diffused ; in Scotland, on 

 the other hand, he is most abundant. Seebohm writes of this 

 sandpiper : ' It is found in the same localities as those frequented 

 by the dipper. High up among the mountains its melodious cry 

 may be heard from the shingly margin of the stream, or the bird 

 may not (infrequently be seen perched on a rock surrounded by 

 water. Even here the sandpiper shows a partiality for certain 

 haunts. The dipper loves their wildest mood, and the more they 

 roll and toss over the rocky boulders, the more he seems at home ; 

 but the sandpiper prefers their slow-running reaches and sandy, 

 driftwood-covered islets, where the shingly and oozy rush-grown 

 banks afford it the haunt it needs.' 



The slight nest of moss and dried leaves is placed among coarse 

 grass or rushes, or in a hole or sheltered hollow in a bank near a 

 stream. Four pear-shaped eggs are laid, very large for the bird, 



