144 BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 



this species ; it may also be seen in small flocks hunting along the 

 ocean beaches. Aquatic insects and their larvae, also other insects, 

 constitute its principal food. 



*CURLEW STINT 



(Ancylochilus subarquatus, Gmelin). 



Male (summer plumage). Upper surface deep brown to dark 

 reddish-brown, with black centres and whitish edges to the 

 feathers ; lower back dull greyish-brown ; sides of lower back and 

 upper tail coverts white, the latter tinged with rufous, with a few 

 black bars; tail feathers ashy-brown, fringed with white; wing 

 coverts dark brown, the latter tipped with white ; primary coverts 

 and quills dark brown, the brown fringed with white; the second- 

 aries fringed with white ; under surface rich chestnut, the feathers 

 more or less edged with white; sides of body and flanks white, 

 sparsely barred with black ; bill, legs, and feet black. Dimensions 

 in mm. : Length, 190; bill, 33; wing, 132; tail, 49; tarsus, 29. 



Female (summer plumage). Similar to male, but not so richly 

 coloured. 



Male and Female (winter plumage). Upper surface and wing 

 coverts ashy-brown, slightly mottled with blackish ; rump and 

 upper tail coverts white; tail feathers ashy-brown, fringed with 

 white, and a subterminal bar of blackish ; quills blackish-brown ; 

 under surface white, with fine markings of dusky-brown on sides 

 of face and neck, also on lower throat and fore-neck. 



Young. " Similar in general colour to the winter plumage of 

 the adult, and distinguished by the absence of rufous colour in 

 the plumage of the upper surface ; on the under surface the streaks 

 on the fore-neck are almost obsolete, and a fulvescent shade over- 

 spreads the fore-neck and chest, in some specimens even extending 

 to the breast itself " (B. M. Cat.) 



Nest, Egg, and Breeding Season. Unknown. 



Geographical Distribution. Tasmania, Australia in general, 

 New r Guinea, Africa, India, and so northwards to the Arctic 

 regions, where it is supposed to breed. 



Observations. But few individuals of this species visit our 

 shores in company with other birds of northern breeding species. 

 Mud-banks and shingly beaches of rivers and estuaries are the 

 favourite haunts of the Curlew Stint. In such localities little 

 parties may be seen feeding in company, when the tide is out, on 

 the edges of the shallow pools left by the receding waters, while 

 others are busily engaged in procuring food on the mud-flats. 



" This fine Stint, though it is fond of frequenting sand-banks 

 and fore-shores left bare by the tide, is frequently found on salt- 

 marshes near the lagoons and estuaries on which it has taken up 

 its winter abode; and I have seen a little flock on dry, rising 

 ground, a few hundred yards away from the water's edge. It 



