THING 01 DES HYPOLETTCUS. 871 



flics, insects, and aquatic larvae to feed upon. In the west and south of Ceylon a favourite haunt is a 

 reeking bed of cocoanut-husks in process of decomposition, for coir-manufacture, at the side of a brackish 

 lagoon ; it runs over this and catches the numerous flies attracted by the unpleasant odour of the coir. 



It is fond of frequenting the same spot throughout the season, taking up its quarters where it first lodges 

 on arrival, and remaining there till it migrates again. In May these birds collect in little troops before 

 leaving the west coast of Ceylon, and are then very noisy and more restless than ever. Its usual note is a 

 treet-lreet-treet, the first syllable being drawn out more than the others ; but in the spring and during the 

 breeding-season it keeps up a constant jingling or trilling note, uttered so quickly that when three or four birds 

 are together a singular consonance of sound is produced. Its flight is peculiar, being a succession of little 

 skims in the air, the result of several rapid strokes of the wings, succeeded by a little interval with the wings 

 motionless. 



A pair frequented the beach beneath the ramparts at Fort Frederick, Trincoinalie ; and I once witnessed 

 them carrying on a singular performance, not during the breeding-time, but in the month of November. 

 They strutted to and fro, with their tails spread out and inclined to the ground, now and theo. making a little 

 run at each other, suddenly dropping the wings, after which they would retire ; and becoming more excited after a 

 little while, they commenced to dart forward to the attack with wings trailing on the ground, heads stretched 

 up, and tails erected vertically over their backs, which final display terminated in a violent pecking at each 

 other. There had evidently been some grave difference of opinion, and they had determined to have the matter 

 settled by an appeal to arms ! 



Dr. Armstrong noticed it in the Irrawaddy delta, chiefly in ploughed fields, on cultivated land, and on the 

 margins of jheels. It is the exception in Ceylon to find it in fields, as its place is entirely taken there by the 

 equally ubiquitous Spotted Sandpiper. In Great Britain, where it breeds, it is found by the side of streams 

 and round the borders of lakes and mountain-pools. It frequently perches on fences; but, unlike the other 

 members of its family, who only practise this habit in the breeding-season, and chiefly in northern climes 

 (where it was evidently first contracted), the present species does so constantly; and the fact of its having 

 been seen in this position has more than once given rise to the report that Snipe have been seen in England 

 perching on fences. It is, however, quite possible (it may be well here to remark) that Snipe may have been 

 seen in England perched on elevated objects when excited during breeding-time, for we have evidence of 

 their doing so in Northern Europe. 



In Africa Von Heuglin has noticed it perching on ships' rigging, as well as on bushes overhanging 

 streams. Col. Irby remarks that it is fond of places where much seaweed has been thrown up by the tide. 



Nidiftcation.—l have no evidence of the Common Sandpiper breeding in Ceylon ; but it is possible that 

 an occasional pair may nest in the upper hills, although I do not know that it has been seen there in July. 

 In India it breeds during the month of May, nesting by the streams that run through the Cashmere valley, 

 particularly the Sindh river. Captain Cock thus describes its nest : — " It is placed a few yards from the water 

 in an open situation in stray localities amongst sage-bushes. It is usually on the ground in a slight depression, 

 generally to the north of a low bush, and consists of a few little pieces of stick or a few fragments of dead 

 leaves. It always contains four eggs, the pointed ends of which are placed together in the centre. The bird 

 gets off the nest very slowly, as if it wished to attract attention to itself." 



Last June I visited a nest situated near an upland lake in Wales, where a number of these birds were 

 breeding. It was placed on the hill-side, about 10 yards from the edge of the water, and was constructed of dead 

 pieces of the common rush, laid in a hollow in the moss and grass made by the bird beneath a tuft of 

 rushes. The bottom of the nest was fully 3 inches thick, and the egg-cavity tolerably deep and about 2£ inches 

 in diameter. It had previously contained four eggs ; but they were hatched off about the 3rd of June. The 

 young, when pursued, take to the water and swim well. In the lake in question they have been seen to 

 swim right out from the shore, and cross over an arm of it to the other side. Although the nests are usually 

 situated a little away from the water, the eggs are sometimes laid in shingle near the water's edge. They are 

 of the usual pointed or pyriforni shape and are stone-buff in ground-colour; and the markings, writes 

 Mr. Hume, are a rich red-brown, in some cases so intense that they are almost black, and consist of specks 

 and spots more or less intermingled with and underlaid by spots and small clouds of reddish, or in other cases 



