68 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornitholof/y of [Ibis, 



everywhere in floeks, from say the end of October to tlie 

 middle or end of March. The number in these gatherings 

 is only restricted by the area of the feeding-ground ; hence, 

 wlien large mud-flats are available in the vicinity of our 

 fresh- or salt-water lagunas and can grej ales, or at the 

 subsidence of a flood, the flocks are sometimes of enormous 

 size. The observer may see many acres of ground which 

 look to be in continuous movement, the surface being alive 

 with the restless throng of Sandpipers running about and 

 chasing each other, feeding, or taking constant short flights. 

 And it is then that he is tempted to exclaim ''Oh, that the 

 crowd would only be still for five minutes, and allow me to 

 resolve so much Sandpiper into their relative species!" 



402. Calidris arenaria Linn. Sanderling. 



As regards the connection of the Sanderling with our 

 locality I am utterly dissatisfied with my own notes on 

 the species ; and prefer to quote solely Claude Grrant, who 

 states that " it was commonly observed during the summer 

 months along the coast in the Ajo district in flocks of from 

 six to twelve individuals.^' 



403. Totanus melanoleucus Gm. Greater Yellowshank. 

 Iris dark brown ; bill dark brown at base, merging into 



black ; feet yellow or bright yellow, claws black. 



This and the Lesser Yellowshank so closely resemble 

 each other in every point except that of size, that, unless 

 the two species happen to be feeding in juxtaposition, the 

 observer has considerai)le difficulty in determining which of 

 them he has in view. 



The Greater Yellowshank is to be found all the year 

 round ; singly, or more often in jjairs. Only once does my 

 diary refer to larger numbers, when (at the end of September 

 1913) I observed numerous large flocks towards the mouth 

 of one of the great drainage canals where it debouched into 

 the Bay of Sanborombon. It is generally distributed and 

 equally at home oi the freshwater marshes or the salt 

 lagunas and cangrejales ; not so abundant as its smaller 



