652 SCOLOPACID^E. 



Mr. Darin's notes on the Ruff in Scandinavia are as fol- 

 low : " This bird appears in great numbers on the coast of 

 Scona at the end of April or the beginning of May, but is 

 not known to breed in the southern parts of Scandinavia, 

 although it breeds abundantly in Denmark, from whence I 

 have had the eggs. It arrives in Lapland the last week in 

 May, and frequents, on its first coming, the shores of the 

 lakes and rivers; as soon, however, as the swamps are 

 thawed, and the grass begins to spring up, which is simul- 

 taneous in Lapland, it conceals itself in the extensive and 

 grassy morasses, is seldom seen on the wing, and is not 

 flushed without some difficulty, flying only a few yards, but 

 generally getting up out of shot. At Killingsuvanda, 

 Gellivara, and Juckasiervi, they were common. They 

 migrate south ; the old birds by the end of July, and 

 the young in August. After the 15th of August almost 

 all the waders disappear from Lapland. They are very 

 fat during the summer. They are known to go as far north 

 as Iceland ; they also visit Russia, Siberia, and the 

 countries to the southward. In France, Provence, Swit- 

 zerland, Italy, and some of the islands of the Mediter- 

 ranean, these birds are only seen during their spring and 

 autumn migration ; a pair occasionally remaining to breed 

 in Switzerland, as mentioned by Professor Schinz in his 

 Fauna Helvetica, published in 1837. My friend Dr. Cal- 

 vert gave me a Reeve that was shot at Malta in the com- 

 mencement of spring. The Zoological Society have re- 

 ceived specimens, sent by Sir Thomas Reade, from Tunis, 

 and others sent by Keith Abbot, Esq., from Trebizond. 

 M. Menetries found this species in the countries about the 

 Caucasus. 



This species has been found in north western India, in 

 Nepal, and in the vicinity of Calcutta. 



