234 GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 



Diagnostic Characters. — Totanus, with the lower back 

 white, and the secondaries nearly uniform gray ; with the wing 

 about seven inches long, and the tarsus over two inches long. 

 Length, 13 to 14 inches. 



The only claim of the Marsh '&3,nAp\^Qr {Totanus stagnatilis — 

 Bechstein) to rank as " British " rests upon a single example which 

 was reputed to have been shot by Mr. Rothschild near the Tring 

 reservoirs, in Hertfordshire, in October, 1887. It is distributed 

 over the southern Patearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian 

 regions in winter. Breeds from the delta of the Rhone east- 

 wards through the valley of the Danube, South Russia, North 

 Persia (where it is said to be a resident), Turkestan, and South 

 Siberia. North of these limits it is only an accidental wanderer, 

 but an example has been obtained on Heligoland. It is found 

 on the coasts of China during migration, and in winter is an 

 inhabitant of Africa as far south as the Cape Colony, India, 

 Ceylon, Burma, the Malay Archipelago, and Australia. 



Allied Forms. — Totanus glottis, a British species dealt with 

 in the preceding chapter. T. guttiferus, an inhabitant in summer, 

 so far as is known, of the north-west shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, 

 and in winter of Burma. Distinguished by having the middle 

 toe united at the base by a web to both the other toes, and by its 

 white lower back and axillaries. 



Time during which the Marsh Sandpiper may be 

 taken. — August I St to March ist. 



Diagnostic Characters. — Totanus, with the lower back, 

 rump, and central upper tail coverts white ; secondaries nearly 

 uniform gray. Length of wing, about 5 J^ inches. 



