AMEKICAN STINT 299 



rare wanderer to the British Isles. It has been obtained on 

 three occasions, and twice from the same locality, several 

 years having elapsed between the dates of the two captures. 



The first bird was procured at Mount's Bay, Cornwall, 

 on October 10th, 1853, by W. S. Vingoe (E. H. Kodd, 

 ' Zoologist,' p. 4297). 



The second and third specimens were taken near Bide- 

 ford in Devon, by Mr. Eickards, September, 1869 (Harting, 

 'Handbook of British Birds,' p. 143), and Mr. Broughton 

 Hawley, August 22nd, 1892 (Saunders, Proc. Zool. Soc., 

 1893, p. 178). 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Feathers of the head 

 and back, blackish, thinly margined with rufous ; back of 

 neck, greyish, splashed with rufous ; wing-coverts, ash-grey, 

 margined with buff and white, the latter forming an indistinct 

 wing-bar ; primaries, brown, darker at their extremities ; 

 lower back and rump, black ; tail-feathers, pale grey, except 

 the longer middle pair which are blackish ; cheeks and 

 throat, whitish ; breast, ash - coloured, mottled with dark 

 brown; abdomen, white; under wing - coverts, whitish, 

 some of the lower ones being mottled with brown. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar to the male plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Back and wings, 

 ash-grey, with the centres of some of the feathers dark 

 purplish-brown, and the margins white ; lower back and 

 rump, blackish. 



Immature, male and female. Closely resembles the adult 

 nuptial plumage, but the feathers of the back and wings 

 have white margins, and the lower throat and fore-neck are 

 washed with buff and exhibit no spots. 



BEAK. Blackish-brown. 



FEET. Dusky olive-brown. 



IBIDES. Dark hazel. 



EGGS. Creamy-yellow, blotched and dotted with dark 

 brown, especially at the blunt end : clutch, four. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 5'25 in. 



WING 3'5 ,, 



BEAK ... 1-7 



TAKSO-METATAESUS 0'75 ,, 



EGG 1 x 0'8 in. 



