48 



not see the present bird above Cairo, but found it plentiful about Alexandria and in the Delta. 

 Captain Shelley has procured several specimens ; and Mr. E. Cavendish Taylor also obtained it 

 in that country. In N.-E. Africa Von Heuglin collected it as far south as 10° N. lat. Petherick 

 procured it in Cordofan ; and it has even been stated to occur in Senegambia, on Lichtenstein's 

 authority. 



In its general habits the present bird bears considerable affinity to the Little Stint, and is 

 generally found in small flocks on the sea-coast, or marshes near the sea-shores, in company 

 with that species and such other waders as Dunlins and Redshanks, but never in flocks of 

 any magnitude. It is extremely active, and appears to be always on the move, running 

 about along the edge of the water in search of food. He also found it in the early spring in 

 Finland, observing it almost daily in small flocks on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. At 

 Uleaborg he observed the first flocks about the middle of May. They were then in small com- 

 panies of from six to nine individuals, most of which appeared to have donned the full nuptial 

 plumage. For about a fortnight they remained about the shores of the Gulf, or the banks of 

 the small lakes near the sea, were very tame, and if not fired at could be approached within a 

 few yards ; and then by degrees they paired off and disappeared to their various breeding-stations. 

 In running about in search of the small insects, gnats, &c. on which they feed, they moved with 

 great activity, the head drawn rather close into the body ; and when they rested for a moment 

 they would, like many of their allies, move the head backwards and forwards several times. The 

 note is shrill and cricket-like, but pleasant, and somewhat resembles the word Tirrii several 

 times repeated. The flight is very swift, but peculiar, and almost like that of a butterfly. 

 Dresser found it breeding on the islands outside Uleaborg. and gave the following notes on its 

 nidification to Mr. Gould, who inserted them in his ' Birds of Great Britain ' : — " I found Tem- 

 minck's Stint breeding sparingly among the network of islands surrounding the harbour of 

 Uleaborg, and shot several in full breeding-plumage on the 26th of May. They were then still 

 in flocks ; and I endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to find some specimens of Tringa minuta amongst 

 them. I spent the 12th of June on the islands outside of Uleaborg, looking for nests, and found 

 one of this bird on Akkio Island. Both I and the lad who accompanied me saw the old birds as 

 soon as we landed, and at once commenced a regular search for the nest, but did not succeed in 

 finding it until we had carefully gone over the whole of the ground. It was situated near the 

 middle of the island, some twenty or more yards from the shore ; and being placed where the 

 grass was thick, it was not seen till almost trodden upon. It was a mere hollow in the earth, 

 such as might be made by working the large end of a hen's egg in soft soil, with small hay-straws 

 neatly arranged round the inside, and contained four eggs, all placed with the pointed end 

 towards the centre. Both birds were very fearless, and did not go from the nest, but every now 

 and then flew up in the air and descended again in circles, fluttering like a Skylark, uttering at 

 the same time a peculiar churring sound, which they also emitted while sitting on any elevated 

 place. A favourite perch of one of them was a pole which had been set up for a pilot's mark, 

 but had been broken off about eight feet from the ground ; on this the bird would sit for a 

 quarter of an hour at a time, churring all the time, and would allow me to approach within a 

 few feet of it." 



The following note, written by the late Mr. John Wolley, was communicated by that gentle- 



