262 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



Young. Somewhat similar to the winter plumage of the adult, 

 but not so uniform above; the entire under surface of body pure 

 white, as also the forehead and sides of face, but the centre of 

 the forehead mottled with blackish to the base of the bill, and 

 with a dusky streak between the bill and the eye, as well as 

 along the upper edge of the ear-coverts ; on the sides of the 

 breast and on the fore-neck there is generally a tinge of vinous 

 buff or vinous ; the sides of the upper breast and the sides of 

 the neck are distinctly spotted with black. The upper surface 

 is for the most part black, mottled with spots of white or sandy 

 whitish, these spots being mostly terminal on the back and 

 scapulars ; the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts ashy, 

 with a sandy-buff tip, and a sub-terminal spot of black, and 

 fringed at the tips with a narrow blackish line, giving the 

 rump the appearance of being lined transversely with black ; 

 the head is also blackish, varied with brown or whitish edges 

 to the feathers, and forming a more or less distinct cap, which 

 is separated from the mantle by the light colour of the hind- 

 neck, which is ashy, streaked with dusky-brown ; wings much 

 as in the winter plumage of the adult, but the greater and 

 median coverts, as well as the inner secondaries, mottled like 

 the back. 



Range in Great Britain. The Sanderling is a frequent visitor to 

 our coasts in the autumn, and a few are said to remain during 

 the winter. The migration, consisting of old as well as of young 

 ones, commences about the middle of August. In spring, 

 birds in summer plumage are noticed on their return journey 

 from April to June, but at this season of the year they are less 

 frequently observed. 



Range outside the British Islands. As regards its breeding range, 

 the Sanderling is decidedly a circum-polar species and probably 

 breeds in most portions of the Arctic tundra, although its eggs 

 are still very rare in collections. It was found nesting by Sabine 

 on the Parry Islands in the early part of the century, but no 

 eggs appear to have been brought back. Colonel Feilden 

 procured two eggs in Smith's Sound (Lat. 82 35') on the 4th 

 of June, 1876, while eggs and nestlings of the species have been 

 found by the German Arctic expedition on Sabine Island in 

 Eastern Greenland, and on the west side nestlings have been 



