THE DUSKY SAND-PIPER. 185 



the quills next the body, the same, but glossed with bronze- 

 green ; the quills dusky, with white spots on the inner webs ; 

 the chin, a narrow band down the front of the neck, the 

 lower part of the breast, the belly, the upper and under 

 tail-coverts, and the rump, white ; the tail white, crossed by 

 irregular lines of dusky ; the legs of a deep green colour, and 

 bare of feathers for between one and two inches above the 

 tarsal joints. In winter, the mottling on the breast becomes 

 very faint, and the colour on the upper part more inclining 

 to brown. 



In Britain, these birds are chiefly seen in small flocks 

 along the shores of the sea, or in marshy places only a little 

 way inland ; and thus those that are usually described may 

 not be in the full lustre of their nuptial plumage. That 

 some of them remain and breed in the fens, has been long 

 supposed, and it agrees with the general analogies of the 

 genus. 



THE DUSKY SAKD-PIPER (TotdUUS fuSCUS). 



This species is rather larger in its dimensions and weight 

 than the red-shank, but it bears a considerable resemblance 

 to that bird in the form of its body, and also in its plumage 

 in the winter. Its bill is about the same size, length, and 

 colour, but its feet are red ; the head and back of the neck 

 are dusky, mottled with ash-colour, especially on the latter ; 

 the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts dusky, with grey spots ; 

 the first six quills dusky black, with a white shaft to the first 

 one, the others barred or scolloped with white on both webs ; 

 the lower part of the back and the rump white ; the upper tail 

 coverts barred with dusky ; the tail wedge-shaped, the fea- 

 thers barred with black and brown, and the edges of the webs 

 scolloped with white ; the chin and throat white, and the 

 rest of the under part mottled brown and white : such is the 

 plumage in which the bird has been found in August. 



