SCOLOPACIIXK. 387 



of the bird, reddish white* in colour, spotted mostly 

 at the larger end with dark reddish brown ; there 

 are also a few spots of a paler shade ; the ground 

 colour appears to fade to a pale dirty white when 

 the eggs have been kept long and blown. 



GREENSHANK, Tdtanus glottis. The Greenshank 

 is a much rarer summer visitor than either of the 

 last-mentioned species : it does, however, occasion- 

 ally occur in our county, and I have seen one or two 

 specimens which had been obtained in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Burnham. As it is here, it seems to be 

 merely an accidental visitor to most of the other 

 counties in England, making its appearance in the 

 spring and autumn, in which latter season the 

 greater number of captures are recorded. 



The nest, like that of most of this family, seems 

 to be merely a hole scraped in the ground, lined 

 with a few fragments of heath and blades of grass.f 



In the way of food this bird appears to have a most 

 decided partiality for fish. Yarrell makes mention 

 of two that had been feeding on small smelts and 

 shrimps, and of another that had swallowed a 

 bearded loche ; besides fish it feeds on grubs, 

 worms, aquatic and winged insects, and small 

 seeds. | 



* Yarrell, vol. ii., p. 655. f Id., p. 667. 



t See note in 'Zoologist' for 1867, by Mr. Clark 

 Kennedy. 



