Family CHARADRIID^. Genus Totanus. 



Subfamily Totakin^. 



SPOTTED SANDPIPER. 



TOTANUS MACULARIUS— (Z/;w«//j). 



Geographical Distribution. — British . in working out the 

 geographical distribution of this species for A History of British 

 Birds, Mr. Seebohm and myself came to the conclusion that of 

 some twenty recorded occurrences in the British Islands seven 

 were apparently genuine. They are as follows : Yorkshire (i 

 example), March, 1849; Lancashire (2 examples), May, 1863; 

 Sussex (2 examples), October, 1866 ; Aberdeenshire (2 examples), 

 August, 1867. It is most important to point out the fact that 

 all these wanderers appear to be adult, and in breeding plumage, 

 with the underparts spotted. Without wishing to call in question 

 the bona fides of these seven examples, I desire to point out the 

 extreme improbability of so many adult Spotted Sandpipers 

 reaching this country in autumn, at any rate in breeding dress. 

 Not only so, but because the Spotted Sandpiper is so different in 

 appearance from the Common Sandpiper, its Old World ally, in 

 breeding plumage, and so very similar in winter plumage, it is 

 perfectly obvious that in the case of attempted fraud on the part 

 of unscrupulous dealers to palm off" American examples as 

 British-killed, the greatest chance of success would be to select 

 adult birds in spotted breeding plumage for the purpose. It is 

 the young and inexperienced birds, the birds that have never 

 migrated before, that are the most likely to lose their way, and 

 wander from their usual habitat. Old birds, comparatively 

 speaking, know the route too well to wander from it ; and of the 

 great number of birds that stray every spring and autumn, 

 during the latter season especially, the great majority (probably 



