"Sometimes the nest may be found close beside an almost earth-buried rock." 



THE COMMON SANDPIPER 



T 



HIS interesting little member 

 of the wader family has a 

 very wide geographical dis- 

 tribution, being found prac- 

 tically all over the Old 

 World. It is a migrant 

 to our shores, arriving in 

 April, and departing again 

 in September and October. 



The gravel-strewn shores of rivers, 

 brooks, and lakes, along which it runs 

 with great celerity and nimbleness in 

 search of food, are its favourite haunts. 

 Upon being disturbed the Sandpiper 

 flies away some distance, and, alighting 

 on a stone or other prominence, utters 

 its soft plaintive call-notes, which sound 

 something like tcheet, wheel, wheel. Its 

 tail and hindquarters are nearly always 

 working up and down, as if actuated by 

 some hidden spring. 



It is about seven inches in length, and 



is known in many parts of the country 

 as the Summer Snipe. 



I have frequently watched it wade 

 into shallow water in search of food, 

 and, when necessity arises, it can dive 

 and swim with ease. 



The nest is made of short pieces of 

 dead rushes, bracken, dry grass or 

 leaves, and is placed in a hole in a 

 bank, under a tangle of dead bracken, 

 or in the shelter of a tuft of grass or 

 rushes. Sometimes it may be found 

 amongst large stones or close beside an 

 almost earth-buried rock or old stump. 

 A small island in the middle of a river 

 nearly always forms a favourite nesting 

 place. I have, however, on several 

 occasions found members of this 

 species breeding more than a hundred 

 yards away from water. 



The eggs number four, and are creamy 

 yellow or pale straw in ground colour, 



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