334 



GRALLATORES, OE WADING BIRDS. 



size from that of the Sparrow to that of the Thrush. They are as 

 follows : the Brown Sandpiper, called also the Harlequin Sand- 

 piper (Totanus fuscus), the Greenshank (Totanus glottis), the 

 Redshank (Totanus caledris), Fig. 125 ; the Pond Sandpiper ; 

 the Wood Sandpiper (Totanus glareola), the Green Sandpiper 

 (Totanus ackropus), the Common Sandpiper (Totanus hypoleucos). 

 The last kind is the smallest, and also the most prized. 



The TURNSTONES (Strepsila) inhabit the sea-coasts of both con- 

 tinents. A single known species alone has been traced over most 

 parts of Europe, the Cape of Good Hope, and various parts of 

 Asia, Australia, and North America. It owes its name to the 

 peculiar method it adopts to find its food. This habit consists of 



Fig. 126. Turnstone (Cinclus mterpres, G. R. Gray). 



lifting up the pebbles and shingles which lie spread over its 

 domain, the sea- shore, in order to discover the worms, Crustacea, 

 and insects concealed underneath. For this purpose it is provided 

 with a bill of medium length, tapering, pointed, and hard, which 

 it uses adroitly as a lever. It lives a solitary life, and does not 

 even congregate with its own species for the purpose of migra- 

 tion, but travels alone. Only in the North, whither it repairs 

 to breed, does it manifest any approach to sociability. The 

 female lays three or four rather large eggs of an ashy-grey 



