THE GREEN SANDPIPER 297 



The eggs of the Sandpiper are rarely found with us, 

 being laid in deserted nests of Crows, Woodpigeons, 

 Blackbirds, Jays or Thrushes, or even old squirrel dreys ; 

 although its haunts are about the peaty swamps, hill 

 streams and ponds. Its nesting habits differ from the 

 others of its congeners. Its cousin, the Common Sand- 

 piper (Tolanus hypoleucus), is also a lively creature, 

 that goes by the name of Fidler Willy-wicket, Dicky- 

 dy-dee, and Water-junket. Fish is sure to be in the 

 stream about which trips the Fiddler. Its note on 

 rising to take flight is "Wheel! wheel!" and its alarm 

 cry a shary "Gift! gift!" At Madely, in Staffordshire, 

 a pair of these Sandpipers hatched out their young in 

 a vicarage garden a few summers ago, the fact being 

 recorded by the vicar, the Rev. T. W. Daltry. 



In June you may come on a hen Sandpiper, w-ith her 

 young, beside some moorland stream. The little ones 

 are precocious in their ways, and run about nimbly as 

 soon as hatched out. The young of the Green Sand- 

 piper are not so easy to observe. 



The Green Sandpiper is a little over nine inches in 

 length. Upper parts olive brown tinged with metallic 

 green, speckled and mottled, the lower parts white, so 

 that when flying it looks like a black and white bird ; 

 the middle tail feathers having broad black bars, towards 

 the end, the two outside feathers almost white. Feet 

 greenish. The bird lays its eggs in old Squirrels' dreys, 

 or the nests of Mistle- and Song-Thrushes, Blackbirds, 

 Jays, and Woodpigeons; sometimes even on the ground, 

 or on mossy stumps, and spines heaped upon fir 

 branches, as high up as thirty-five feet but always near 

 to pools. The eggs are light greenish-grey, with small 

 purplish brown spots, generally four in number. 



