604 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



TEREKIA CINEREA 



404. Terekia cinerea (Guld.)— THE TEREK SANDPIPER. 



Scolopax cinerea Giildenstadt, Nov. Comm. Acad. Petrop., xix, p. 473, 



pi. 19 (1774 or 5 — Shores of Caspian Sea). 



Terekia cinerea G-iild., T. Parkin, Brit. B., vi, p. 74. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Fore -head white, 

 feathers more or less narrowly streaked ash -brown ; upper -parts 

 ash-brown, feathers with faint white edges and except those of nape 

 with sepia shafts, scapulars with black-brown shaft -streaks ; sides 

 of back and rump white ; lateral tail-coverts more or less white 

 mottled and barred ash-brown ; broad white eye -stripe streaked 

 ash-brown ; lores, cheeks, sides of neck and lower -throat white 

 narrowly streaked ash-brown ; breast white faintly streaked or 

 spotted sepia ; sides of breast as upper-parts ; remaining under- 

 pays white ; two central pairs of tail-feathers ash-brown, outer 

 ones usually paler, varying individually, sometimes with inner 

 webs more or less white, sometimes bordered subterminally darker 



The Terek Sandpiper {Terekia cinerea). 



ash-brown ; primaries and coverts black-brown, inner webs paler 

 and shading to white towards base ; secondaries sepia broadly 

 tipped and bordered white and more or less white on inner webs, 

 innermost and their coverts as mantle ; greater coverts sepia tipped 

 white ; median and inner lesser coverts as mantle ; other lesser 

 coverts sepia faintly edged white. This plumage is acquired by 

 complete moult Aug. to Jan. Summer. — The body-feathers (not all 

 scapulars), sometimes tail, some innermost secondaries and coverts, 

 usually some median and lesser coverts but not rest of wings are 

 moulted Feb. to May. Coloration as winter but feathers of crown, 

 nape, mantle and scapulars with broader sepia shaft -streaks, some 

 feathers of mantle and scapulars with broad black-brown central 

 markings ; upper tail-coverts usually barred and notched sepia ; 

 lores, cheeks, sides of neck and throat and sides of breast more 

 heavily streaked sepia ; rest of under -parts and tail as winter ; 

 wing as winter but new innermost secondaries shaded darker cen- 

 trally. N.B. — One April and one May were moulting primaries ; 

 one or two spring specimens were moulting into winter plumage. 

 In late summer upper-parts appear darker owing to abrasion of 

 ash-brown edges. 



Nestling. — Fore-head light buff or white ; from base of upper 

 mandible to back of crown a black-brown median line ; rest of 



