LITTLE STINT. 79 



are very remarkable, but we are surprised that Mr. Yarrell has 

 made no mention of this egg in his own history of British 

 Birds, since he had it in his collection : and must therefore 

 conclude that he has since had reason to entertain some doubts 

 of its authenticity. We represent the same egg, numbered 

 199, in the present work, but, owing to its great rarity and 

 the circumstances alluded to, we cannot absolutely say that 

 this is the egg of the Little Stint. 



The measurements of the Little Stint are as follows : — 

 length, from the tip of the beak to the extremity of the tail, 

 six inches ; the beak eight lines, and the tarsus full ten lines. 



The adult Little Stint in summer plumage has the top of 

 the head black, with rufous-brown edges to the feathers ; the 

 forehead and streak over the eyes are buff-coloured ; the chin 

 and throat are white ; the sides of the neck and breast pale 

 rufous, with brown spots ; lower part of the breast, belly, and 

 vent pure white ; the cheeks are tinged with rufous and spot- 

 ted with dusky brown ; the back, scapulars, wing-coverts, 

 rump, and two middle tail-feathers are black, and one and 

 all broadly edged with rufous-brown ; the outer tail-feathers 

 are cinereous-brown, with lighter edges ; the beak and legs 

 are black ; the eyes dusky. This is the state of plumage 

 represented in our plate. 



The winter plumage differs very much from the above, 

 and is the one in which the bird is more generally known 

 in this country. In this state of plumage all the upper 

 parts are cinereous wood-brown, with dusky shafts to the 

 feathers ; between the beak and the eye is a wood-brown 

 streak ; over the eye extends a whitish line ; the sides of 

 the breast are ash-coloured, tinged with wood-brown ; throat, 

 breast, belly, vent, and under tail-coverts white ; the two mid- 

 dle tail-feathers are brown, the outer cinereous-brown, with 

 white edges. 



