148 



Parvex met with it during passage in Dauria ; Mr. Swinhoe records it as common in China and 

 Formosa in the early winter and spring ; and it has been recorded from Japan, where Mr. Whitely 

 obtained one at Hakodadi on the 4th November, 1864, from a native birdcatcher. Southward it 

 ranges to the Philippines. Lord Tweeddale records it from Luzon, and Kittlitz from Manilla. 

 I possess a specimen from Java; and it has been recorded from Timor, Borneo, Celebes, and 

 Amboina. 



In habits the present species is far more of an inland marsh-bird than most of its allies. I 

 first made its acquaintance years ago when collecting on the coasts of Kent and Sussex, and 

 obtained several near Eye Harbour. I found them singly in the gravel-pits where water had 

 collected, and near small ponds away from the sea-coast, and never, as far as I can recollect, on 

 the coast itself. They were very shy, and we could only get a snap shot at one now and then by 

 creeping carefully up to where we knew it would be found. When travelling up the coast of 

 Finland in the spring of the year I used frequently to see Wood-Sandpipers at the small puddles 

 by the road-side ; and as they were not very shy, I shot several out of my carriage ; and in some 

 parts of the country it appeared to be common. I generally saw two or three together, seldom 

 more; and they did not appear to consort with other species of Sandpipers; but in the autumn 

 they are said to collect together in small flocks of about a dozen individuals, and not unfre- 

 quently of many more. In its general habits it is active and sprightly, restless in its movements, 

 and rather shy than otherwise. It reminded me much of the Redshank in its general habits, but 

 is much less of a shore-bird than that species. On the wing it is exceedingly swift; and when it 

 observes any one approach, it will remain quite still until it takes wing, when it darts off, flying 

 in a somewhat crooked line with incredible swiftness, usually uttering its clear loud whistle, and 

 seldom alighting until it has traversed a considerable distance. Its call-note is an exceedingly 

 clear, loud whistle, easily distinguishable from that of any other of the Sandpipers ; but, besides 

 this note, the male utters during the pairing-season a succession of notes, forming a sort of 

 pairing-song, resembling the syllables teeleedl, teeleedl, teeleedl, uttered several times in succes- 

 sion in a very high tone. This song is uttered whilst the bird is on the wing, performing various 

 peculiar aerial evolutions at a considerable altitude. Mr. Hancock says (I. c.) that its flight " is 

 peculiar when the bird is disturbed. It rises to a considerable height, moving rapidly in wide 

 circles, and occasionally rising and descending with extended tremulous wings, and making a 

 noise similar to that produced by the Snipe, but shriller." 



Like its allies it feeds on small worms, aquatic insects and their larvae, and probably also 

 small mollusks. It appears to search after food generally in a marshy locality where the water 

 is not clear and the soil is muddy, and not in sandy or pebbly places. 



For the purpose of nidification it selects large open marshy districts where there are neither 

 trees nor bushes, but where the soil is covered with grass and short aquatic herbage, but not where 

 the sedge or rushes are dense and high ; and it appears to be partial to localities where cattle are 

 turned out to graze. The nest is placed on the ground, frequently in a place difficult of access, 

 and generally on a small mound or patch rather higher than the surrounding ground, and hence 

 dryer, but not, so far as I know, in a perfectly dry place away from the water. The nest is a 

 mere depression amongst the herbage, scantily lined with a few grass-bents or dry leaves ; and the 

 eggs, four in number, are placed with the small ends pointing towards the centre. The eggs 



