20 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. viii. 



1914, states that on May 8th a Gannet was picked up aUve 

 near Weekly Hall Wood, Kettermg, and brought to his 

 keeper. The bird was a male in full adult-plumage, but 

 very thin, and died daring the night. It is carious that the 

 date of this occurrence should be exactly the same as that 

 of the Staffordshire occurrence noted above. — Eds.] 



BREEDING-ACTIONS OF THE REDSHANK. 



From a " hide " that I had made to a nest on a marsh in 

 Suffolk the first week in May, I was able to watch a pair 

 of Redshanks {Tringa totanus) which had made their nest 

 near by at the side of a little mound amongst the grass and 

 kingcups. 



The pair had alighted tAvice near the nest and had flown 

 away again, but about noon they came back. The female 

 ran up on one side of my " hide," the male on the other, 

 and they met at the nest. The male stood on the top of 

 the mound uttering a soft, continuous whistle more like a 

 " purr " with no break in it. After ten minutes or so he 

 went off and fed near by, leaving the female on her nest. 



After laying her eg^ — the first — she strolled off, taking no 

 notice of her mate. He then commenced a much shriller 

 purring whistle, and ran quickly after her with all his body- 

 feathers fluffed out, his tail-feathers spread, wings raised 

 high above his back and half-furled, giving him almost the 

 appearance of a white bird as he was running away from me. 



Later in the evening the birds returned to feed close by, 

 when the male started his run from a longer distance on the 

 tips of his toes. He was a most lovely sight. 



I did not return to my " hide " for two days, when I found 

 that the birds had been scared away from the nest, and 

 though I saw one of them return and look at the eggs on 

 Tuesday, she did not stay, and they played about at the 

 other end of the marsh, evidently looking for another 

 nesting-site. Maby G. S. Best. 



SABINE'S SNIPE IN MERIONETHSHIRE. 



In March, 1914, I had the pleas are of seeing in the flesh a 

 fme specimen of " Sabine's Snipe," a melanism of the Common 

 Snipe {Gallinago g. gallinago). Judging from this specimen, 

 after comparing it with the ordinary examples of the Common 

 Snipe, it seems almost incredible that it should be regarded 

 merely as a melanic form and not as a distinct species. This 

 bird A^as smaller and the bill and legs finer and shorter than 



