52 VARIETIES OF SHOOTING. 



a wagtail. When flushed, it utters a note which is said to 

 resemble "wheet, wheet." Its food consists of worms and 

 insects, especially those frequenting the water's edge. Its 

 nest is built in a hole of the bank, where the hen bird lays 

 four eggs, of a reddish-white colour, speckled with brown, in 

 length one inch four lines, breadth one inch. The beak is 

 dark brown towards the point, the base being of a pale 

 yellow brown; iris dusky brown; a brown streak passes from 

 the beak to the eye, over which is a light-coloured streak ; 

 upper parts of the head and body greenish brown, each feather 

 having a greenish-black stripe across the centre, and along 

 the line of the shaft ; primaries almost black, with a greyish- 

 white patch on the inner circle of all but the first ; seconda- 

 ries tipped with white ; the central feathers of the tail the 

 longest ; in all twelve in number, and barred with greenish 

 black, the four outer ones on each side being tipped with 

 white ; again, the two outer tail feathers on each side have 

 the outer webs white barred with greenish black; chin white ; 

 upper part of breast streaked with dusky black on a ground 

 colour of pale ash ; under parts of a clear white; legs and 

 toes ash green ; claws brown ; length seven inches and a half. 

 The GREEN SANDPIPER (Totanus ochropos) is chiefly met 

 with in spring and autumn, a few only breeding in this 

 country. This bird is somewhat larger than the summer 

 snipe, with which it is often confounded, its length being 

 nine inches and a half. Its habits resemble those of the 

 common sandpiper, excepting that it is not so often found in 

 the breeding season, while in the winter it is occasionally met 

 with. Its note is said to sound like " cheet, cheet, cheet." 

 The following is the correct description of this bird : Beak 

 greenish black ; iris hazel ; a dusky-brown streak reaching 

 to the eye. over which is a white line ; upper parts of head 

 and body dusky green, slightly shaded with dark green ; pri- 

 maries of a uniform dusky black ; scapulars and tertials 

 greenish brown, the former having numberless light-coloured 

 small spots on both edges, while the latter have them on the 

 outside margin only ; upper tail coverts white ; the greater 

 part of the tail feathers white ; the outside feather with 

 one small dark spot near the end, the next feather having 

 two of these, the third and fourth with two broad dark 



