160 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Tringa oahuensis Bloxham. Voy. " Blonde," Sandwich Is., p. 251, 1826 = Feb. 20th, 1827 : 



Sandwich Islands. 



Charadrius cinclus Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat., Vol. II., p. 148, 1827 : Siberia. 



[Strepsilas interpret] pacificus Nelson, Cruise of the Corwin in 1881, p. 83, 1883, pref. March 



3rd : Behring Sea, Coast and East Asia. 



Arenaria interpret nova Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. III., pt. 4, p. 69, July 21st, 1917 : 



Rottnest Island, West Australia. 



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



Adult male in breeding-plumage. Lores, fore-part of crown, sides of crown, 

 and sides of neck white like the lower back and upper tail-coverts, as also the throat, 

 middle of breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, axillaries, and under wing-coverts ; 

 fore-head black with white fringes to the feathers ; a black line in front of the eye 

 joined to a black patch on the sides of the face which extends in a line on to the 

 sides of the neck and is continued in a large space of black round the lower throat 

 and sides of breast ; crown of the head, the feathers fringed with white, giving a 

 streaked appearance ; hind-neck white, the feathers tipped with brown and buff ; 

 a black spot on each side of the nape ; the feathers of the mantle white, tipped with 

 chestnut and a small black elongated spot ; some of the feathers of the back and 

 scapulars are chestnut tipped with black, while others are black tipped with chestnut ; 

 rump dark brown ; tail mostly white with a broad subterminal black band, the 

 outermost pair of feathers white with the exception of a brown spot on the inner web 

 near the tip ; lesser upper wing-coverts dark brown, some of the innermost white, 

 those on the outer edge white with a subterminal brown spot ; bastard -wing and 

 outer median coverte brown, the inner ones for the most part chestnut ; greater 

 coverts brown margined and tipped with white ; primary-coverts and primary-quills 

 brown, the latter paler brown on the inner webs, with white shafts and white on the- 

 outer webs towards the base ; secondaries for the most part brown margined and 

 tipped with white, the innermost brown varied with chestnut and white, some of 

 the feathers pure white ; bill black, eyes brown, feet red, joints brown. Total 

 length 225 mm. ; culmen 25, wing 155, tail 61, tarsus 24. 



Adult female in breeding-plumage. Similar to the male but with more black 

 on the mantle and less chestnut ; the feathers on the crown of the head black 

 margined with brown ; the white on the sides of the head and fore-part of crown 

 not so clearly defined. 



Adult in winter-plumage. Differs from the breeding-plumage in the entire 

 absence of chestnut on the upper-surface where it is replaced by dark brown, or 

 black, with pale brown margins to the feathers ; head and hind -neck dusky -brown 

 more or less intermixed or streaked with white like the ear-coverts and sides of face, 

 the feathers on the sides of the upper-breast very similar. 



Immature. Upper-parts dark brown with paler brown edges to the feathers 

 of the scapulars and upper wing-coverts ; entire head, sides of face, hind-neck and 

 sides of neck dusky-brown becoming black on the fore-neck and sides of breast, 

 where the feathers are more or less edged with white. 



Immature just out of down. Black breast-band mottled with white tips ; 

 upper-parts with pale rufous tips. 



Nestling in down. Pale greyish-brown with a wash of yellow and mottled with 

 black on upper-surface and top of head, showing no definite pattern ; an indistinct 

 frontal streak not reaching bill ; fore-head and above and around the eyes yellowish- 

 brown ; loral black stripe with a black spot below in front of gape ; under-surface 

 pale creamy -white, an indistinct dark band across chest through dark bases to down ; 

 winglet mottled black and brown with white tip. A few days older shows typical 

 bill formation ; coloration greyer, mottling more confused on top of head and back ; 

 neck paler as in previous stage while there is a distinct broad blackish breast-band, 

 the chin and throat and rest of under-surface pure white. 



Nest. A slight depression, sometimes lined with grass. 



