SANGUINARI A S A N T A L A C E JE. 



605 



with brown blotches, especially towar^ the thick 

 ends. They do not go quite so far inland as the 

 lapwing, nor do they build so much on the open 

 moors, so that they are not so often seen or heard as 

 these amusing birds ; but when their nests are ap- 

 proached, they set up a wailing, and wheel about in 

 the air, hinting to the intruder that he is treading 

 forbidden ground. 



When on the shores, they do not assemble in 

 flocks, like many of the birds that winter there ; they 

 are scattered about, and thus they do not appear to 

 be so numerous as they really are. Even then, how- 

 ever, they are noisy, and their whistle may be heard 

 amid the roarings of the surges as these break on the 

 shore. At this season their colour is ash-brown, 

 with dusky streaks on the back, and the breast 

 greenish-white, with faint lines of brown. 



The length, when full grown, is eleven inches, 

 and the stretch of the wings nearly twice as much. 

 The feet and the basal half of the bill are orange- 

 red, the point of the bill dusky, and the whole bill is 

 about two inches in length ; the tarsi are long, and 

 there are very slight webs between the first and 

 second toes at their bases ; the irides are hazel, and 

 the naked space round the eye greyish white. In 

 summer the back, and upper parts general^, are 

 dusky, spotted with grey, with the exception of the 

 wing-coverts, which are ash, spotted with white and 

 brown ; the quills are dusky, with white tips to the 

 secondaries ; the rump white, spotted and barred 

 with dusky ; the tail with alternate bars of white and 

 black ; the breast white, with oblong dusk}' spots, 

 and the belly pure white. The young of the year 

 have the upper part brownish, and the breast ash- 

 coloured, with a few brown lines. They have some- 

 times been regarded as a distinct species. 



COMMON SANDPIPER (T. hypolcucos). This species 

 is rather a small bird, being only between two and 

 three ounces in weight, and little more than seven 

 inches in length ; but it is a very active little bird. 

 The colours of the upper part are ash, variously 

 mottled with brown ; the under part is white, with 

 brownish lines on the breast ; the feet are admirably 

 fitted for running, an operation which the bird per- 

 forms very swiftly. It often runs into the shallows 

 of the water, and it can swim a little, for its feet 

 are webbed nearly to the first joint of the toes, and 

 the feathers on the under parts of its body are close 

 and waterproof like those on the swimming birds. 

 This species is very abundant in all parts of the 

 British islands, which suit its habits, and passes into 

 several of the western isles ; but we believe it is not 

 met with in the extreme north. In the severity of 

 winter the greater part migrate, and leave our shores 

 to birds less fitted for long flight. This one has very 

 great powers in that way. Its wings are rather more 

 than twice the length of the body, and they are 

 firmly made. The tail is also an efficient instrument, 

 It can be spread out like a fan, and the bird uses it 

 both in picking up its food and in its ascents and 

 descents. They disperse themselves widely over 

 the wilds in the summer, frequenting the margins of 

 the streams, and making their rude nests under the 

 banks, or simply among the sand and pebbles, if 

 there is no bank at hand. The nests are not very 

 often seen ; for the bird, when surprised, gets away 

 so fast, and with so many doublings, that one cannot 

 easily mark the place where it rises. Their cries 

 are shrill and often repeated, and, as they are heard 



in bleak and lonely places, they are pleasing. The 

 eggs are four, of a whitish flesh colour, mottled with 

 dark reddish brown. They are not found in the rich 

 parts of the country : and there do not seem to be 

 half so many of them any where as there really are, 

 for they live very dispersedly. 



GREEN SANDPIPER (T. chloropus). This is a larger 

 and heavier bird than the common sandpiper, being 

 more than nine inches in length, and weighing be- 

 tween three and four ounces. It is a resident bird, 

 wintering as well as summering in Britain ; and it is 

 an inland one, building near the wild lakes and 

 marshes, and frequenting their margins in the winter, 

 unless when the weather is very severe, and then it 

 betakes itself to the sea-coast. The bill and feet 

 have a dull greenish tinge, only the head or distal 

 part of the bill is dusky, as it generally is in the genus. 

 The bill is very slender, but firm in its terminal part ; 

 the feet have webs between the outer and middle 

 toes only. In summer the back is brown, w ith green 

 glosses and some small white spots. The lower parts 

 are white. The upper part is paler in the winter, 

 and has not the glosses. The nest is near the waters, 

 composed of a little withered grass if on the soil, 

 but merely a little hollow if on the sand. This is 

 also a very pretty tenant of the wilds, but, like the 

 rest, it is not often seen. 



WOOD SANDPIPER ( T. glariola). This is rare, and 

 by some supposed to be a winter migrant from the 

 northern parts of Europe, where it is abundant ; but 

 the time of its appearance in the south of the country 

 is rather against this. It is smaller than the green 

 one. The upper part dusky and glossed with purple, 

 and the under parts white. 



There are many other species, some of them Brit- 

 ish, and among the rest the greenshank ; but there is 

 nothing very particular in their habits, which are 

 pretty uniform in all the genus. 



SANGUINARI A (Linngeus). The S. Canadensis 

 is the poccoon or bloodwort of North America ; a 

 polyandrous flowering, tuberous-rooted perennial, 

 belonging to the natural order Papaveraccos, This 

 dwarf-growing plant thrives in any light soil, and is 

 increased by seed or divisions of the root. 



SANGUISORBA (Linnams). A genus of her- 

 baceous perennials, mostly European. The flowers 

 tetrandrous, aud the genus belongs to Rosacece. The 

 S. officinalis is a pasture plant in English farming, 

 and known by the name of burnet. Although a 

 portion of the seeds be frequently employed in laying 

 down permanent pastures, cattle do not seem to be 

 fond of it, as it is the last to be eaten. 



SANICULA (Linnaeus). A genus of British and 

 North American herbaceous perennial?, belonging to 

 UmbellifertE. The species are uncultivated, and only 

 noticed by the botanist. 



SANTALUM (Linnaeus). A genus of tropical 

 trees and shrubs, belonging to the natural order to 

 which they give a title, viz. 



SANTALACE^E. A natural order, containing 

 seven genera, and above twenty species. They are 

 chiefly natives of South Africa, New Holland, and 

 India, and collectively considered, are trees, shrubs, 

 or herbs, with round or irregularly angled branches, 

 alternate, nearly opposite leaves, stipulac absent. The 

 flowers are small, collected into spikes or racemes. 

 The perianth is single and superior ; the stamens are 

 definite, exserted from the base of me sepals ; the 

 anthers are terminal and two-cellea ; the style is 



