temminck's stint. 579 



primaries. Bill as in Little Stint but more slender and tapering. 

 Other structure as in Dunlin. 



Soft parts. — Bill blackish ; legs and feet pale brownish, greenish 

 or yellowish ; iris dark brown. 



Field -characters. — Smallest American shore-bird, to be confused 

 only with Ereunetes. Tone of plumage brownish, breast obscured 

 by dark streaking. Bill more slender than in Ereunetes, straight or 

 just appreciably decurved in females. Legs and feet pale, brownish, 

 greenish or yellowish. Favourite haunts marshes and mud -flats, 

 rarely on sandy beaches, sometimes on fresh-water meadows. 

 Gregarious but frequently scatter singly among marsh-grass when 

 feeding. Rather silent on ground and noisy on the wing. Flight - 

 note a grating " krreep," the ee sound diagnostic. (J. T. Nichols.) 



Breeding-habits. — Haunts neighbourhood of water, small lakes, 

 islets, etc. Nest. — Hollow in ground, lined with dry leaves and 

 grasses. Eggs. — Four, stone-colour to pale greenish or more often 

 yellowish in ground-colour, spotted and blotched with rich umber- 

 brown and ashy-grey. Average of 20 eggs, 29.3x21.1. Max.: 32 

 X21.5 and 31.1x22. Mm.: 28x20.7 and 29.1x20.2 mm. Breed- 

 ing-season. — Latter half June and early July. Incubation. — No 

 details. Probably single brooded. 



Food. — Shore -haunting insects, small Crustacea and worms ; also 

 seeds of various aquatic plants. 



Distribution. — England. — Four. Mount's Bay (Cornwall) Oct. 10, 

 1853. Northam Burrows near Bideford (Devon) Sept. 1869 and 

 Aug. 22, 1892 (Saunders, p. 587). Near Mousehole (Cornwall) Sept., 

 1890 (J. Clark, Zool, 1907, p. 286). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Northern N. America, in winter from 

 California, Texas, and North Carolina through West Indies and 

 Central America to Brazil, Galapagos Islands, and Chile. On migra- 

 tion throughout N. America. Casual Greenland and Bermudas. 



CALIDRIS TEMMINCKII 



394. Calidris temminckii (Leisl.)— TEMMINCK'S STINT. - 



Trestga Temminckii Leisler, Nachtrage zu Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. 

 pp. 63-73 (1812— Near Hanau on the Main). 



temmincki Leisler, Yarrell, in, p. 398 ; Saunders, p. 589. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Fore-head greyish- 

 white ; crown, nape, mantle and scapulars ash-brown tinged olive, 

 shafts darker ; back, rump and upper tail-coverts black-brown, 

 feathers edged lighter, sides of back and rump and lateral upper 

 tail-coverts white ; indistinct eye -stripe white streaked ash-grey ; 

 lores, ear -coverts, cheeks and sides of neck ash-brown ; chin and 

 throat white ; breast white suffused pale ash-brown ; remaining 

 under -parts white ; tail-feathers pale ash-brown, three outer pairs 

 almost entirely white, central pair dark sepia tinged olive ; pri- 

 maries sepia, paler on inner webs, 2nd with white shaft, remainder 



