502 SCOLOPACIDJE ; SANDPIPER, RUFF, CURLEW. 



swampy open ground in search of its food, of which earth-worms 

 constitute a very large proportion. Its voracity is very great ; 

 a single individual having been known to consume within 

 one night more earth-worms than half filled a garden-pot of 

 moderate size. The Sandpipers and their allies constitute a 

 numerous group, which chiefly frequent saline marshes and the 

 sea-shore ; though some prefer the margin of inland lakes and 

 rivers. They associate in flocks, and perform periodical migra- 

 tions in large bodies. Their food consists of worms, Crustacea, 

 and small mollusks ; this is obtained rather from the surface than 

 beneath it, the bill not being so sensitive as in the Snipes. They 

 undergo a double annual moult, the summer livery differing 

 remarkably from that of the winter. Many of the species are 

 very widely diffused ; the Marsh Sandpiper, for instance, being 

 found in the north of Europe and in the Indian Archipelago ; and 

 the Willet being common to Europe and America. One of the 

 most remarkable species of this group is the Ruff, of which the 

 female is known as the Reeve. It breeds in the fenny parts of 

 Britain, but departs southwards for the winter. Soon after its 

 spring arrival in the breeding-places, a ruff of beautiful long 

 plumes is developed round the neck of the male ; this disappears 

 at the end of June. It is remarkable for the diversity of its 

 colouring ; the hues not being alike in any two instances. A 

 very extraordinary degree of pugnacity is displayed by the 

 males at the commencement of the breeding season ; this does 

 not abate in confinement ; and such fierce conflicts are excited 

 by merely setting a bowl of food before them, that the results 

 are sometimes fatal to the weaker. The Curlew, Whimbrel, and 

 Godwit, also belong to this family ; their bills are long, slender, 

 and slightly curved ; and are used to obtain food from the mud 

 and oozy ground, in the same manner as those of the Snipes. They 

 mostly breed in the high northern latitudes, and visit us only for 

 the winter ; but they are known to breed occasionally in Britain. 

 45 1 . Nearly allied to the preceding, but classed as a distinct 

 family by some Ornithologists, are the Stilts, or Stilt-Plovers, 

 and the Avocet ; which are remarkable for the extreme length and 



