Birds of Celebes: Charadriidae. 7g3 



Nest. Placed on the ground, often in a grass-tuft, or beneath the shade of a tall weed or 

 little bush of heath, sometimes amongst drifted rubbish above high-water mark: the 

 hollow formed by the bird is sometimes lined with a few dead bents, straws, scraps 

 of moss, etc. (from Seebohm 19). 



Distribution. Europe; Africa; Asia; the East Indies as far as Java and Celebes. — S. E. 

 Siberia (v. Middend., Kalinowski etc. 30); N.E.Mongolian frontier (Radde 30); 

 Corea (Kalin. 30); Sakhalien (Nikolski 30); Japan — Nipon (Pryer 25); China 

 (David 70, Styan 27, De La Touche 29); India (Jerdon, etc. 14); Ceylon (Legge, 

 etc. 14); Audamans (Davison S); Nicobars (v. Pelzeln IX); Bui-mah (Gates 17); 

 Tenasserim (Davison 12); Cochin China (fide Gates 17); Singapore (Hume 12''"); 

 Sumatra (Hagen 30); Java (Kuhl & v. Hasselt 5); Bawean (Diard 5); Borneo 

 (Schwaner, etc. 5, 22); Philippines — Palawan (Platen 21, Whitehead 24), Cebu 

 (Bourns & "Worces. 31), Negros and Siquijor (Steere 23), Basilan (Everett 13, 16); 

 Celebes — (Forsten 5), Minahassa (Guillem. 18, Nat. Coll.), Gorontalo District, 

 Limbotto (Rosenb. 15), Luwu (Weber 29); Saleyer (Everett .35). 



The Common Redshank is found from Iceland and Lapland as far south 

 in winter as Cape Colony, and from E. Siberia to Java and Celebes. It is, 

 however, less arctic in its habitat than its relatives T. glottis and T. glareola; it 

 breeds not only in Iceland and Northern Europe, but also in England, Germany 

 — among other spots near Dresden, in Holland, and Col. Irby (14) records 

 it as nesting in numbers in the marismas of some parts of the Guadalquivir 

 in Spain. Moreover it is a bird rather of Europe and Western Asia than of 

 North-east Asia. Taczanowski (30) points out that Dybowski and Godlewski 

 did not jjrocure any examples in S. E. Siberia, and Steller and Dybowski 

 did not see it in Kamtschatka. Stejneger makes no mention of it from Bering 

 Island, von Middendorff got only one specimen on the shore of the Sea of 

 Ochotsk, Kalinowski only two in Amurland, Nikolski found it rare in Sakhalien, 

 and Seebohm (25) records only one specimen from Japan. On the other hand 

 Radde found it breeding in great numbers on the Tare'i Nor on the Mongolian 

 frontier, it is common in Corea during the autumn migration according to 

 Kalinowski (30), it is perhaps the commonest wader in China during migration 

 time according to Abbe David (10), a statement confirmed by De La Touche 

 as regards Swatow, South China It is not said to winter in the country except 

 by Swinhoe (14). From these statements we conclude that the species migrates 

 first east and then south, or fairly direct S. E. from Central Siberia or further 

 west. It winters plentifully in Ceylon according to Legge (14), in Burmah 

 according to Gates (17), and in Tenasserim from the observations of Davison 

 (12). It seems to be a somewhat scanty visitor to Celebes and the other Great 

 Sunda Islands, where it has escaped the notice of many collectors. 



When the Common Redshank starts up in flight it is at once recognisable 

 by its white secondaries and lower back and rump, and, should its nest or 

 chicks be near, it flies in wide circles with a light but somewhat jerky flight 

 round the intruder, uttering an incessant cry of anxiety or warning, "kei-kei- 

 kei", or varying this note with a loud whistle like "giff, the call-note of the 



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