SCOLOPACID^. 311 



up as they tread and run daintily over the soft oozes wliere 

 they feed, and long beaks for probing the ground for 

 worms. They all of them lay comparatively large pear- 

 shaped eggs upon the ground, usually four in number, 

 which are invariably arranged with the tapering ends 

 pointing inwards; and all their eggs are beautifully 

 coloured with different shades of green and russet, and are 

 thus protected from easy discovery owing to their har- 

 monizing with the tints of the surrounding ground. They 

 are all somewhat wary and " sporting "-looking birds, 

 flying with great swiftness when flushed, and, from their 

 connection with moor and bog, sandy shores, and wild 

 scenery, are objects of interest to the sportsman and 

 naturalist alike. Their young when hatched are covered 

 with down, and a few hours after emerging from the shell 

 they are able to run about and feed themselves. Devonshire 

 and Cornwall are remarkable for the number of American 

 representatives of this family which have visited these two 

 counties. These are nine* in number, as against three 

 recorded by Mr. Stevenson for the great county of Norfolk, 



* Pectoral Sandpiper, Tringa maculata. Devon (North), Coniwall, and Seil'y 

 Isles. 



Bonaparte's Sandpiper, Tringa fuscicollis. Devon (Xortli), Cornwall, and Scilly 

 Isles. 



Anipriean Stint, Tringa minufilla. Devon (North) and Cornwall. 



Bull-b'-eassted Sandpiper, Tryngites rufesccns. Devon (North, Lundy) and 

 Cornwall. 



Bertram's Sandpiper, Actituncs longicaucla. Cornwall and Somerset. 



Solitary Sandpipor, Tofanns solitariiis. Cornwall, Scilly Isles. 



Ydlowsliank, Tofunus Jla»ipc^. Cornwall. 



Red-breasted Snipe, 3/acro;-Aa/«pArts^r«eMS. Devon (South) and Cornwall, Scilly 

 Isles. 



Esquimaux Curlew, Nmnenius lorealis. Cornwall, Scilly Isles. 



The Spotted Sandpiper, Tringoides mactilarius (Linn.), another American species, is 

 mentioned by Dr. Moore, on the authority of Mr. Ncwt(jn, as having been obtained on 

 Dartmoor (Uowe's I't-ramb. Dartmo(ir). Tlie species is not admitted into the Briti.-h 

 List by Mr. lIoH-ard Saunders, and tliere is no well-authenticated instance of its 

 occurrence in the British Islands. It is closely allied to our Common Sandi)iper or 

 SutnnuT Siiipo. The Yellowsliank mentioned by the late Mr. Ross in his MS. 

 Journal of (Jccurrcnccs in Natural History, V(j1. lii. p. 52, shot on the E.\e in 1840, 

 was probably a young Redshank. 



