96 TOTANIN^S. ACTITIS. 



faintly grooved, and the feet also shorter. The body is 

 ovate and slender ; the neck of moderate length ; the head 

 small, oblong, and compressed, with the forehead rounded. 

 Bill of the same length as the head, straight, very slender, 

 soft and flexible at the base, hard and elastic at the end ; 

 upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge nar- 

 row and convex, the sides grooved for three-fourths of its 

 length, the edges thin and sharp, the tip slightly declinate, 

 narrowed, bluntish, and a little exceeding the other ; lower 

 mandible with the angle long and extremely narrow, the 

 sides grooved to the middle, the dorsal outline straight, the 

 edges thick and faintly grooved, the tip narrowed, and some- 

 what obtuse. The digestive organs are similar to those of 

 the Totani, as are the organs of sense and the limbs, the 

 feet being proportionally shorter. The plumage is also 

 similar. 



The Weet-weets are small migratory birds, which frequent 

 the sandy and muddy margins of lakes, rivers, and estua- 

 ries. They are especially remarkable for the vibratory mo- 

 tion of their body, and their shrill cries. They feed on 

 insects, larvae, worms, and mollusca ; have a rapid, some- 

 what undulated, and vacillating flight, and run with great 

 celerity. Their nest is a slight hollow ; the eggs four, py- 

 riform, light coloured, and spotted with dusky or brown. 

 Two species occur in Britain ; one very common, the other 

 the reverse. 



201. ACTITIS HYPOLEUCOS. WHITE-BREASTED AVEET-WEET. 



A little larger than the Dunlin, but of more slender form ; 

 with the bill dusky, the feet greenish-grey ; the upper parts 

 glossy greenish-brown, transversely banded and undulated 

 with dark-brown ; the lower parts white, excepting the fore 

 part and sides of the neck, which are greyish, with faint dusky 

 lines. Young with the upper parts lighter, the feathers mar- 

 gined with dusky and reddish, the feet ochraceous. 



Male, % 14, 4^, H, J, & and \. 



This elegant little bird arrives in England about the mid- 

 dle of April, in Scotland toward the end of that month, be- 

 taking itself to the sandy or gravelly shores of lakes, rivers, 

 and brooks, sometimes also of estuaries, where it procures its 

 food, breeds, and remains until its departure in September. 



