344 



Food.- Small crabs, shrimps, sand-hoppers, sea-worms, 

 and shell-fish, are sought for along the coast, while at the 

 breeding-haunts berries, insects, and earth-worms, form the 

 main diet. 



Nest. The Eedshank breeds on the ground in marshy 

 situations, the majority of the birds resorting to inland dis- 

 tricts far from the coast, while others nest close to the sea- 

 beach where marshes and dykes contain brackish waters. A 

 spot fairly rich in grasses, rushes, and coarse vegetation, tall 

 enough to afford concealment to the sitting-bird, is usually 

 selected. I have generally found the nest in the middle 

 of a tuft of long grass and often on the islands of fresh- 

 water lakes. It is made of dry grass, the same material 

 being used for the lining. Sometimes, however, in a secure 

 and isolated spot, the surrounding herbage is so stunted that 

 the nest is quite open to view. Several pairs of birds may 

 be found breeding about the same locality, yet hardly close 

 enough and in sufficient numbers to form colonies. The 

 eggs, four in number, are of a warm buff or stone-colour, 

 marked with numerous blotches and spots of a rich dark, 

 reddish -brown. Some eggs bear a close resemblance to those 

 of the Lapwing, others are coloured not unlike those of the 

 Common Tern, but the ground-colour of the Kedshank's 

 egg is usually lighter and clearer than either, and its pear- 

 shape at once distinguishes it from the latter. 



Incubation commences about the middle of April, this 

 species breeding somewhat earlier than most wading-birds. 



At the approach of an intruder the birds become noisy 

 and wildly excited, endeavouring to distract attention from 

 their brood by their erratic ascending and descending move- 

 ments through the air. 



The Redshank breeds in several counties in England, 

 also in Wales, while in Scotland and Ireland it is more 

 widely distributed as a nesting-species, and in a few 

 favourite breeding-haunts is even numerous. 



Geographical distribution. Abroad, it breeds over a 

 large area of Northern and Temperate Europe and Asia, 

 also in Northern Africa. The migration-range, in autumn 

 and winter, extends along the European sea-board, south- 

 ward to Cape Colony, and eastward over the Asiatic Con- 

 tinent to India, China, Japan, and the adjoining Islands. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Top of head, hind- 

 neck, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, chequered with 



