138 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



95. Rhyacophilus glareola. WOOD SANDPIPER. 



Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 3, pi. 156, Aug. 18th, 1913. 



Tringa glareola Linne, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., p. 149, Jan. 1st, 1758 : Sweden, Europe. 



Tringa grallatoris Montagu, Suppl. Ornith. Diet., App. S., " Sandpiper, Long-legged," 1813 : 



England. New name for T. glareola Linne. 



Totanus afflnis Horsfield, Trans. Linn Soc. (Lond.), Vol. XIII., pt. i., p. 191, 1821 : 



Java. 



Totanus sylvestris Brehm, Handb. Naturg. Vog. Deutschl., p. 638, 1831 (pref. July) : Germany. 



Totanus palustris Brehm, t'6., p. 639 : Germany. 



Totanus kuhlii Brehm, ib., p. 641 : Java. 



Totanus glareoides Gray, Zool. Miscell., pt. VI., p. 86, June 29th, 1844 : Nepal. Norn. 



nud. 



Totanus glareola vulgaris A. E. Brehm, Verz. Samml., p. 12, 1866. Nom. nud. 



Rhyacophilus glareola picturata Mathews, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, Vol. XXX VI., p. 82, May 



25th, 1916 : North-west Australia. 



DISTRIBUTION. Winter visitor to Australia, breeding in the northern hemisphere. 



Adult male in breeding -plumage. Dusky-brown above, with blotches of darker 

 brown distributed over the upper-surface ; head and hind-neck streaked with white, 

 and white spots distributed over the back and wings ; upper wing-coverts for the 

 most part browr, more or less fringed and barred with white ; bastard -wing, primary- 

 coverts and quills dark brown, shaft of outer primary white ; secondary -quills 

 somewhat paler brown, and edged with white at the tips ; the innermost secondaries 

 like the back ; upper tail-coverts white, barred with brown ; middle tail-feathers 

 brown, barred with white or buffy-white, the outer feathers for the most part white 

 with irregular markings of pale brown ; eye-ring white ; eyebrow and sides of face 

 minutely spotted with brown ; ear-coverts brown, intermixed with white ; chin 

 white, the feathers of the lower throat brown with white margins ; fore-neck and 

 breast ash-grey, more or less barred with white ; the feathers on the sides of the 

 body white, barred with brown like the under tail -coverts, but more sparsely on 

 the latter ; middle of abdomen dull white ; axillaries white, regularly barred with 

 brown ; under wing-coverts brown, fringed with white, the greater series grey with 

 white tips ; bill blackish-brown, base of lower mandible brown ; iris dark brown ; 

 tarsi and feet light olive-brown. Total length 225 mm. ; culmen 31, wing 128, tail 

 50, tarsus 37. 



Adult female. Similar to the adult male but larger. 



Adult in winter-plumage. Differs from the summer-dress in being more uniform 

 on the head and hind-neck, and in having a well-pronounced white superciliary 

 streak ; also in having the breast uniform grey. 



Immature. The upper spotting is rufous and the spots are closer together ; 

 the throat and chest ashy with distinct shaft-stripes of brown which also occur on 

 flanks ; axillaries not regularly barred. 



Nestling in down. Upper-surface for the most part black, with longitudinal 

 smoky-grey lines on the head, hind-neck, and back ; a narrow black loral streak 

 which cuts through the eye on to the sides of the hinder crown ; entire under- 

 surface white. 



Nest. A depression in the earth. 



Eggs. Clutch, four ; ground-colour bluish, coveied more thickly at the larger 

 end with large spots and blotches of dark purplish-red, and underlying ones of 

 lavender ; axis 39, diameter 27. 



Breeding-season. May, June. (Siberia.) 



Distribution and forms. The northern regions of Europe and Asia, ranging 

 southward to Australia in winter. No subspecies are at present recognised, though 

 Mathews observed " the eastern form is smaller and paler," and probably fuller 

 series will later confirm that statement. 



