TOTANIN^E. GLOTTIS. 91 



tarsus compressed, scutellate before and behind ; toes four, 

 the first very small and elevated ; the anterior of moderate 

 length, slightly webbed at the base ; claws small, slightly 

 arched, compressed, obtuse. Plumage very soft and blended, 

 on the back and wings compact ; wings very long, pointed, 

 with twenty-five quills ; the first primary longest, the rest 

 rapidly decreasing ; secondaries incurved, some of the inner 

 tapering and elongated ; tail short, a little rounded, of twelve 

 feathers. 



These birds are of moderate or rather small size. They 

 frequent the shores of the sea, lakes, rivers, and marshes ; 

 feed upon worms, insects, Crustacea, and mollusca, run with 

 great celerity, vibrate their body when standing, emit a loud, 

 shrill, reiterated cry, and have a rapid, light, and rather 

 buoyant flight. Their nest is a slight hollow ; the eggs 

 four, very large, pyriform, and spotted. Some species of 

 the genus are found in most parts of the world ; but in 

 Britain only one occurs. 



196. GLOTTIS CHLOROPUS. GREEN-LEGGED LONG-SHANK. 



In winter the bill greenish-brown at the base, black toward 

 the end, the feet greenish-grey ; the head, hind part and sides 

 of the neck, greyish-white, streaked with brown ; the fore part 

 of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, greyish-brown, the 

 feathers edged with whitish ; the hind part of the back, fore 

 part of the face, and all the lower parts, white, but with faint 

 grey markings on the fore part of the sides, and on the lower 

 wing-coverts ; tail white, barred with greyish-brown. In sum- 

 mer, the fore-neck and breast marked with oblong black spots ; 

 the fore part of the back and the scapulars black, the feathers 

 margined with whitish. 



Male, 141, 26? ?i, 2 T ^, 2 T \, 1^, &. 



Generally dispersed in England and some of the southern 

 parts of Scotland during winter, when it is seen in small 

 flocks here and there along the shore, by the margins of rivers, 

 and in marshy places. By the beginning of summer it has 

 disappeared, unless in the north of Scotland and some of its 

 islands, where a few breed. The nest is a shallow cavity, 

 with some fragments of plants; the eggs four, two inches 

 long, an inch and three-eighths in breadth, pale yellowish- 

 green, spotted with dark brown and light purplish-grey. 

 It feeds on insects, worms, and other small animals, runs and 



