TOTANUS FITSCUS. 849 



blackish grey, much streaked with white ; chin and throat white ; head and loral stripes blackish brown, the 

 former slightly streaked with white ; back and scapulars not so dark as in the above. 



Winter plumage (England). Above brown, unspotted on the head and hind neck ; a whitish stripe above the lores and 

 one behind the eye ; upper back and scapulars dark brown, with marginal white spots ; wing-coverts with interrupted 

 white bars and terminal lateral spots of the same ; secondaries brown, barred with white, as are also the outer 

 webs of the inner primaries ; tertials indented with white ; back white ; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail brown, 

 narrowly barred with white — exactly the converse of the coloration in the Common Redshank ; chin and gorge 

 white, unmarked ; the rest of the under surface white, with dark streaks on the fore neck and sides of the chest ; 

 legs dull red. 



The change to the dark summer dress takes place by a gradual alteration in the colour of the lower parts, which first 

 become barred with blackish brown, while the ground-colour of the upper surface darkens, the feathers at the same 

 time assuming the black coloration. 



Young in down. " Covered with down close at the base, but with the tips radiating out like hairs ; upper parts 

 variegated blackish brown and brownish buff ; forehead buff, with one central dark stripe, which joins the blackish 

 brown ou the hind crown ; a narrow blackish stripe passes also from the base of the bill through the eye to the 

 hind neck ; underparts dusky white, clouded with brownish buff on the breast and flanks." (Dresser.) 



Immature birds nearly resemble the adult in winter plumage, but have the under surface barred with sooty grey, and 

 the chest striped with the same ; wing-coverts, scapulars, and interscapulars tipped with whitish. 



Distribution. — Layard includes this Redshank among the Waders he procured in the north of Ceylon : 

 and I infer that it is a straggler to the island, probably occurring chiefly in the Jaflha peninsula. I have 

 never met with it myself nor seen it in any collections made in Ceylon subsequently to Layard's time ; and 

 hence my reason for believing that it must be a rare bird in Ceylon, particularly as it is a species which has 

 not a southerly range. Jerdon states that it is found throughout India in the cold season, either solitary or 

 in moderate parties. From recent observations it would appear to be found chiefly in the north — Bengal and 

 the north-western districts of the empire. It is not recorded from the Deccan ; but the maritime districts of 

 the south of the peninsula must be included in Jerdon's habitat, for he collected much in the south. Mr. Ball 

 includes it in his list of birds from Chota Nagpur and the Godaveri, but cites only the Rajmehal hills and 

 Birbhum as localities ; from Raipur and Sambalpur it is noted by Mr. Hume, who likewise says that it is 

 moderately common about Calcutta. It is not included by Captain Beavan nor Mr. Cripps in their lists. 

 In the Punjab and in Sindh it is said to be very numerous in the cool season; and in the Mount- Aboo district, 

 where it is found until late in May, it is " not uncommon " (Butler) . It is found in Kutch and in Kattiawar 

 too, and it is not common at the Sambhur Lake. At Allahabad Mr. Cockburn met with a large flock on the 

 8th of May in full breeding- plumage; and in the British Museum there are specimens in summer plumage 

 collected by Mr. Hodgson in Nepal. I find no mention of it in Pegu or from the Irrawaddy delta ; and in 

 Tenasserim it has only been found at the mouth of the Sittang river. Its range does not extend to the Malay 

 peninsula or the archipelago, nor has it, as yet, been found in the Philippines. It was procured in Formosa 

 by Mr. Swinhoe ; and in China he records it from Canton, Tientsin, and Shanghai. Prjevalsky met with it in 

 South-east Mongolia during spring migration. It is said to be common in Japan in Yezo ; and I presume 

 it is found there either late in the spring on passage or in summer. In Eastern Siberia Middendorff met 

 with it, and writes that it breeds not unfrequently on the Boganida river, beyond which it extends into 

 Kamtchatka, and thence into the Aleutian Islands. It has not been met with in Kasgharia ; but Severtzoft' says 

 that it occurs on passage in the north-western portion of Turkestan, and that it breeds there on grassy steppes 

 and in cultivated districts up to 4000 feet. Mr. Seebohm does not appear to have met with it on the Yenesay ; 

 but on the great sister stream, the Ob, Dr. Finsch found it as far north as Obdorsk, which is at the mouth 

 of that river and on the gulf of the same name. 



In Europe it is a winter visitor to the southern portions of the continent, and is not uncommon in 

 Spain, to the southern portion of which, Mr. Howard Saunders says, it is a regular migrant. The same may 

 be said of Italy and Greece. In Sardinia it occurs in March on passage ; and in Malta it is a regular migrant. 

 In Transylvania it is not uncommon during migration ; and it has been shot in June in that province. In 

 Southern Germany, and also in Bohemia, it is commonly met with in autumn. 



