590 



western part of the Odense fiord, at a distance of less than ten yards, and he could not possibly 

 have been mistaken as to its being really a Stilt. In Belgium and Northern France it is, as 

 elsewhere in the north of Europe, only of accidental occurrence ; but several examples have been 

 killed near Tournay and Bergues, one on the Meuse, and one near Thionville. It is even 

 believed to have nested near Abbeville ; and M. Meerzemacher, of Bergues, possesses a com- 

 pletely formed egg taken from a female killed in a salt marsh near that town. In the south of 

 France it is more abundant, and nests regularly in the mai'shes at the mouth of the Rhone, and 

 up the valley of that river and of the Isere. M. Adrien Lacroix says that it occurs irregularly, 

 on passage, in the French Pyrenees, in September, October, March, April, and sometimes early 

 in May, always in flocks ; and he adds that he knows of an instance of seven having been killed 

 at a double shot out of a flock as they flew past, at Portet, ten kilometres south of Toulouse, on 

 the banks of the Garonne, on the 19th of April 1865. It is found in Portugal, and in Southern 

 Spain is, Colonel Irby says, extremely common. In the marismas of the Guadalquivir, he writes 

 (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 164), " their numbers are perfectly marvellous. I could not find them nesting 

 nearer to Gibraltar than the above-mentioned marisma. ... It is almost entirely migratory; but 

 in some years a few undoubtedly remain behind throughout the winter, as I have seen small lots 

 on the 26th and 27th of November in different years, many on the 22nd of December, and others 

 on the 14th of January. The chief numbers appear towards the end of March and beginning of 

 April ; and they are then not unfrequently seen near Gibraltar at the mouths of various rivers 

 but soon pass on to their breeding-places, where they nest in colonies, and deposit their four 

 eggs on the half-dried mud. I have seen eggs as early as the 28th of April; but the majority 

 lay about the 10th of May." Mr. Howard Saunders also writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 387) that it is 

 " common in the marshy plains, where it breeds ; but being a very local bird, it is considered 

 quite a rarity in other parts of Andalucia. The nest being situated in a tussock of grass close 

 to, and almost in, the water, the eggs, the complement of which is four, are almost invariably 

 covered with mud, whilst those of the Redshank, which breeds but a few yards off, are always 

 clean." In Savoy it is very rare, as Bailly only cites two instances of its occurrence ; but in Italy 

 it is moderately abundant, principally on the spring passage, and is supposed to breed in some 

 parts of the Venetian territory. In Sicily it arrives rather earlier than in Italy, and is more 

 numerous ; some nest about the marshes of Catania and similar localities. In Sardinia it is 

 stated to remain over the winter; and Mr. A. B. Brooke refers to it as being an occasional 

 visitant to that island during the cold season. Mr. C. A. Wright says that it is not uncommon 

 in Malta during the seasons of passage, in March and April and again in September and 

 October; and Lord Lilford writes (Ibis, 1860, p. 345) that he found it "common on the shores 

 of Corfu and Epirus in March, April, and May ; generally to be seen in small flocks, standing 

 mid-leg in water, and snapping at the midges and other small insects. This species breeds in 

 great numbers in the marshes of Dalmatia, in the neighbourhood of Spalatro." According to 

 Dr. Kriiper it arrives in Greece late in March or early in April, and passes northward, a few only 

 remaining to breed in Acarnania, near Missolonghi, and iEtolico. 



In Southern Germany it is occasionally met with. Dr. Anton Fritsch says (J. f. O. 1871, 

 p. 386) that it used to appear with tolerable regularity at the Pardubicer pond ; Herr Hrodmadko 

 obtained both old and young birds, the former shot in February 1841 ; Palliardi observed some 



