BRITISH BIRDS. 97 



distinctly marked or streaked with spots of the 

 same colour: on the breast and belly, which are 

 white, tinged with ash, the spots are thinly dis- 

 tributed, and are shaped something like the heads 

 of arrows or darts. The general appearance of 

 the upper parts of the plumage is glossy olive 

 brown ; some of the feathers quite plain, others 

 spotted on the edges with dark brown, and those 

 on the shoulders, scapulars, and tertials trans- 

 versely marked with the same coloured waved 

 bars, on a pale rusty ground : bastard wing and 

 primary quills dark brown ; inner webs of the 

 latter deeply edged with white, freckled with brown, 

 and some of those quills next the secondaries 

 elegantly marked, near their tips, with narrow 

 brown lines, pointed and shaped to the form of 

 each feather : some of the secondaries are barred 

 in nearly the same manner, others are white : 

 back white : tail feathers' and coverts beautifully 

 marked with alternate bars of dusky and white, 

 the middle ones slightly tinged with rust colour : 

 legs red, and measure, from the end of the toes 

 to the upper bare part of the thigh, four inches 

 and a half. 



This species is of a solitary character, being 

 mostly seen alone, or in pairs only. It resides 

 the greater part of the year in the fen countries, 

 where it breeds and rears its young; lays four 

 eggs, whitish, tinged with olive, and marked with 

 irregular spots of black, chiefly on the thicker 

 end. Pennant and Latham say, "it flies round 

 its nest, when disturbed, making a noise like a 

 Lapwing." It is not so common on the sea-shores 

 as several others of its kindred species. 



VOL. II. N 



