THE SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER. * 



Family S COL OP A CID&. 



SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER. 



i 

 Tringa acuminata, HoRSFlELD. 



AN example of this bird was shot near Yarmouth, in August, 1892 (see " Ibis," 

 1893, p. 181, and figure) ; another was in the Norwich Museum previously, 

 but some doubts were thrown on its history. The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is closely 

 allied to the American Pectoral Sandpiper and to our Dunlin. It breeds in Mongolia 

 and Eastern Siberia, passes through the Japan and China coasts and the Malay 

 Archipelago on the autumn and spring migration, wintering in Australia and 

 New Zealand. It varies a great deal in size (my series from China measure from 

 8 in males to 7 inches in females, and the wing correspondingly from 5f to 4f). 

 Roughly, this species resembles the Dunlin in summer plumage, except in having 

 no black pectoral gorget. On the upper breast and sides of the body adults have 

 brown marks of the shape of a wide arrow-head (^), which will separate them 

 from any allied bird except the Pectoral Sandpiper, and the feathers of the tail 

 are much graduated in length, the central pair (which are dark in colour) being 

 more than half an inch longer than the (light grey) outside pair. The legs also 

 are light greenish yellow, in the Dunlin black at all seasons. Like the Pectoral 

 Sandpiper, which is only the representative form in the New World of this species, 

 this bird has also a considerably longer hind claw and longer tarsus than the 

 Dunlin. 



From the Pectoral Sandpiper it may be distinguished by the ruddy colour of 

 the upper parts. Most of the feathers of the crown, shoulders, scapulars, and 

 secondaries are broadly bordered with chestnut. Even in winter dress this remains 

 on the crown, and traces of it on the shoulders, secondaries, etc., the rest being 

 replaced by buffy-white, equally broad. In T. pedoralis the feathers of the same 

 parts are narrowly bordered with reddish-buff, which leaves a much larger area of 

 sooty centre to each feather, and therefore gives a much darker general shade to 

 the whole of the upper parts. Also the chin and throat of the Sharp-tailed Sand- 

 piper do not contrast with the lower neck and breast in being unspotted, but are 

 dotted with round sooty spots, which do not take the form of stripes. These 

 differences sound minute, but, though difficult to make them plain in words, they 



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