THE SPOTTED SAND-PIPER. 183 



The colours are, a dusky streak from the gape to the eye, 

 and a whitish one over the eye ; the head dusky, streaked 

 with white; the back and scapulars dusky, with purple 

 reflections, and an obscure yellowish spot on each web, near 

 the tips ; coverts of the wings dusky, with whitish spots, 

 and without any gloss ; greater coverts black, with white 

 tips ; quills black, the first with white shafts, the rest, except 

 three or four next the first, tipped with white ; the upper 

 part of the rump black, with streaks of white ; the lower 

 part of the rump and upper tail-coverts white, but with 

 black spots on those next the tail feathers ; the breast, belly, 

 and under tail-coverts, pure white ; tail feathers with eight 

 brown bars on the outer webs, and six on the inner, alter- 

 nating with white ones ; tip and cutting edges of the bill 

 blackish ; the rest dusky green, and the feet the same ; they 

 are bare an inch above the tarsal joints. The winter plu- 

 mage is a little paler in the colours, and that of the young is 

 grey and brown on the breast, with obscure reddish spots on 

 the under part. The bird inhabits marshy woods, but its 

 manners are little known. It is usually described as a winter 

 visitant, coming to this country from the marshy forests 

 of Sweden ; but as it appears in the south of England early 

 in the month of August, that cannot well be reconciled 

 with an autumnal departure from Sweden. The probability 

 is that, like some of the others, it is a resident bird, though 

 a very rare one, inhabiting places which are not easily 

 examined. 



THE SPOTTED SAND-PIPER (Totanus macularia). 



This species is also a very rare one in Britain, a single 

 specimen being all that has hitherto been observed in the 

 country. It is an American species, very plentiful along the 

 shores of the rivers in the central states, not proceeding 

 very far to the north, but remaining to breed, and retiring 



