214 Order XIII 



The flight is, or can be, particularly swift ; at the breeding 

 quarters the parents fly backwards and forwards or 

 circle around in a state of the greatest excitement. 

 The bill, except at the tip, and the legs, are orange 

 red ; the general plumage is brownish with darker 

 streaks and bars ; the rump is nearly white, and there 

 is so much white on the tail and lower parts that it 

 shews more than the darker colours do when the bird 

 is on the wing. 



The Spotted or Dusky Redshank {T. fuscus) is an 

 irregular visitor to our seaside or inland marshes on 

 both migrations ; it has even occurred in Orkney, but 

 does not remain for the winter. Being rare in Britain, 

 the question of its nesting-quarters used to be of 

 paramount interest, until WoUey discovered them in 

 Finland in 1854. Since then the bird has been proved 

 to breed in other parts of Europe north of the Baltic 

 and across northern Asia to the neighbourhood of 

 Kamtschatka. It is black above and below with small 

 white spots, the rump and tail alone shewing much of 

 that colour. In summer, therefore, it is a far darker 

 bird than the Common Redshank ; even in winter the 

 grey of the plumage is darker in parts, while the. legs 

 are always livid, with crimson round the joints. The 

 eggs are more beautiful and often greener than those 

 of its congener and are laid in somewhat drier situations 

 in the vicinity of a marsh, while the hen at times sits 

 very closely. It is also a less vociferous bird, and in 

 habits comes into comparison with the Greenshank 

 rather than the Redshank, though it is more fond of 

 perching on trees than either. 



The Greenshank {T. nebularius), which breeds in 

 the Hebrides and on the mainland of Scotland as far 



