174 THE NORTHUMBERLAND COAST IN SEPTEMBER 



Just below US on the margin of the winding Waren Burn 

 were numbers of Redshanks running over the sand or wading 

 in the shallow water, actively picking up small items of food. 

 Their pretty red legs flashed in the sun. They have a peculiar 

 jerky motion of the head and neck when they stand upright, 

 as if they found a difficulty in satisfactorily balancing their 

 little brownish bodies on their long slender legs. Suddenly 

 our attention was struck by what appeared to be a grey 

 Redshank standing " waist deep " in the flowing water. Time 

 after time it plunged its grey head and white neck into the 

 stream ; but it seemed determined to stay where it was, and 

 give us no chance of a closer investigation. At last it came 

 ashore, and as it stood in the bright sunshine we were able to 

 examine it more closely. Top of head and back of neck 

 grey; chin, throat, and shoulders white; breast, belly, and 

 rump pure white ; tail, when shewn in flight, nearly white ; 

 back and wings grey with a tinge of brown;,, bill black, long, 

 and just slightly turned up ; legs long, greyish green. It was 

 perhaps the legs more than anything else which gave it 

 away — it was a Greenshank — a scarce bird here, and merely a 

 passing caller on its autumn migration. As we watched this 

 interesting bird it took to flight and sped fifty yards further 

 down stream, there to continue its wading operations with 

 renewed vigour. Turning again to the spot which it had just 

 vacated we were delighted to find a second Greenshank in 

 exactly the same place. It must have alighted just as the 

 first one flew away. After that we very carefully examined 

 every Redshank in the vicinity, and there were many, in the 

 hope that it might turn out to be a Greenshank which we had 

 previously overlooked ; but we were disappointed — not another 

 could we find. We had certainly not expected to be so 

 fortunate as to meet with Greenshanks, as according to Mr. 

 Abel Chapman, a good authority on the movements of the 

 birds on this coast, the latest date for seeing them is September 

 2oth. As a matter of fact we visited this same spot four days 

 later (Sept. 27th) and again saw a solitary Greenshank in the 

 same stream. It was probably not one of the two birds 



