BIRDS. 219 



Calidris arenaria (L.). Sanderling. 



A note by the late Eobert Heddle, one of the authors of the 

 Fauna Orcadensis, states that " the Sanderling has been observed 

 in Sanday and Stronsay," and Mr. Harvey says that it is an 

 occasional visitant to the former island. 



Mr. Monteith-Ogilvie, when at Sanday in December 1889, 

 found a good many Sanderlings with Dunlins and Ringed 

 Plovers, and shot one for identification. 



Totanus hypoleucus (L.). Common Sandpiper. 



Neither Low nor Dunn makes any mention of this species. 

 Though not mentioned by Baikie and Heddle in their work as 

 being more than an occasional visitant to Orkney, yet a MS. note 

 left by the latter author shows that he became aware that the 

 Common Sandpiper bred in the islands. Less abundant than it is 

 in many parts of the Highlands, yet we met with this species on 

 several occasions in Hoy, Eousay, and the Mainland. In this 

 latter island Mr. Irvine-Fortescue pointed out to us the bird 

 sitting on its nest, close to Swanbister. The nest was in a hole in 

 a rather steep bank, its position thus differing in some degree 

 from that in which we have usually found it in Sutherland. 



Mr. Irvine-Fortescue informs us that he once flushed a 

 Sandpiper off her nest after a heavy night's rain. The nest was 

 filled with water, while the two eggs were up on the edge of 

 the nest. The bird, finding the water rising in the nest, must 

 have pushed the eggs up out of the nest, and then continued 

 sitting on them. 



Totanus calidris (L.). Redshank. 



Very common, and resident the whole year round, breeding 

 abundantly through all the islands and holms. They are fond 

 of haunting the grass-fields and damp meadows, the young ones, 

 in such situations, lying as close as snipe. When flushed they 

 show much more white, and that of a clearer colour, than the 

 old birds. In winter they are fond of feeding in the same damp 

 places near the sea as the snipe do, and, from never being shot 

 at, are very tame. 



We extract the following from a letter written us by Mr. 



