236 SIBERIA IN EUROPE. chap. xix. 



The five sanderlings that we had shot on the islands were 

 three males and two females. The testicles of the former 

 were small, the latter had eggs about the size of a pin's head. 

 Both males and females showed signs of moult ; they had 

 some bare places almost like sitting-spots, but no recent 

 ones. 



The curlew sandpiper turned out to be a female, with very 

 small eggs, and showed no signs of having been breeding 

 this year. 



The next day we were too wearied, after the excitement 



and fatigues of the previous one, to do more than turn out 



for a few minutes to shoot a couple of Temminck's stints. 



We wished to compare them with the little stints secured 



the day before. Side by side the birds are perfectly distinct. 



The little stint is a shade the smaller, but the measurements 



are the same, as its bill is a trifle the longer. There is not 



much difference in the extent of wing, the measurements 



being respectively 11*8 and 11'9 inches. The length of wing 



from the carpal joint is : — 



Temminck's stint 4'05 in. 



Little stint 3'6 in. 



A more important measurement may be the length of the 

 tarsus. The smaller bird has decidedly the longer tarsus, 

 •85 against "75 inch. The colours of the legs and feet are 

 very different. The little stint's are almost black ; those of 

 the Temminck's stint brown, or perhaps grey. The bill of 

 the little stint is also much darker than that of the other 

 species. The easiest distinction lies in the colour of the 

 back and wings. In this respect the little stint is a small 



