286 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



Habits. — The British Islands are evidently situated on the 

 extreme outer fringe of the spring and autumn migrations of 

 Temminck's Stint. This is probably because the bird's line 

 of flight is more inland, not so maritime as that of the Little 

 Stint, and taken down the great river valleys, which extend 

 almost due north and south between the tundras where it 

 breeds, and the countries where it winters. The few individuals 

 that do stray so far to the westward as our coasts usually make 

 their appearance in May and September, and the great majority 

 of the birds reach their Arctic haunts during the last week 

 of May in Europe and the first week of June in Siberia. It 

 is much more addicted to inland lakes and rivers than the 

 coast, and always prefers a muddy shore to a sandy one. 

 During passage and in its winter quarters Temminck's Stint 

 is generally met with in flocks, but occasionally in scattered pairs 

 or alone, and odd birds are frequently met with in the gatherings 

 of other Waders. Its habits and movements on the mud-flats do 

 not differ in any important respect from those of its congeners. 

 Its flight is rapid, and the small bunches of birds frequently 

 gyrate in the air after being disturbed from their feeding places, 

 each movement being performed with such precision that a com- 

 mon impulse seems to control the entire number of individuals. 

 The food of Temminck's Stint is composed principally of insects 

 and their larvae, worms, and various small marine animals; 

 particles of vegetable matter have been noticed in the stomach of 

 this bird. Its call-note is a shrill ftirr, very different from the 

 ■whit of the Little Stint. 



Nidification. — The breeding season of Temminck's 

 Stint is in June. Wolley was the first naturalist to furnish 

 detailed information of the nest and eggs of this species, which 

 he found breeding sparingly in the marshes to the north of the 

 Bothnian Gulf. Although several nests may be found quite 

 close together it is said that Temminck's Stint is not gregarious 

 at the breeding grounds, keeping in pairs during that period. 

 During the pairing season this Stint frequently perches on the 

 small trees in its haunts, or stands on a post or fence, vibrating 

 its wings, and trilling lustily. This trill, however, is generally 

 uttered whilst the bird is wheeling round and round, or hovering 



