THE TEREK SANDPIPER. 605 



crown and nape light buff, base and long tips of down sooty-black ; 

 from nape to uropygial tuft a black-brown median band ; remain- 

 ing upper-parts warm and light buff, down with sooty-black bases 

 and long sooty-black tips ; on either side of rump a small black- 

 brown patch not always denned ; a black-brown line from upper 

 mandible through eye to hinder-crown ; ear-coverts, cheeks, sides 

 of neck, chin and throat light buff or white, down with sooty-brown 

 bases ; remaining under -parts white. Bill very slightly upturned. 



Juvenile. — Like adult summer but feathers of upper -parts 

 edged light buff, those of mantle with narrower shaft -streaks, black- 

 brown streaks of scapulars sometimes widening out into a club- 

 shaped process or transverse bar at tip ; streaks on cheeks, sides of 

 neck and breast lighter sepia and narrower ; lower -throat and 

 breast slightly suffused light buff ; tail-feathers as adult but edged 

 light buff and usually with subterminal barring or mottling of 

 sepia ; wing as adult but innermost secondaries as scapulars though 

 with central streaks narrower ; wing-coverts tipped buff. 



First winter. — As adult winter and only to be distinguished 

 when buff edges to juvenile wing-coverts are not abraded. The 

 juvenile body-feathers, usually all tail-feathers, some innermost 

 secondaries and coverts, some median and lesser coverts are moulted 

 Sept. to Jan. but not rest of wings. First summer. — Not to be dis- 

 tinguished from adult summer. 



Soft parts. — Bill black, base dirty pale orange ; legs and feet 

 orange ; iris black-brown. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 126-141 mm., tail 47-56, 

 tarsus 25-28, bill from feathers 43-49 (12 measured). $ wing 127- 

 140, bill 44-52. Primaries : 1st minute, 2nd longest, 3rd equal or 

 2-4 mm. shorter, 4th 7-10 shorter, 5th 14-20 shorter, 6th 23-28 

 shorter. Longest inner secondary between 3rd and 5th primaries. 

 Tail almost square, central feathers longest. Bill long and up- 

 turned, much wider at base than at tip ; upper mandible with a 

 groove extending to more than half length of culmen, culmen de- 

 curved at tip, inter -ramal space unfeathered. Tarsus short and 

 scutellated in front and behind. Four toes, middle and outer ones 

 webbed at base almost up to 2nd joint and middle and inner ones 

 to about 1st joint. 



Characters. — No subspecies. Ash-brown rump and upper tail- 

 coverts, white axillaries and long upturned bill distinguish this 

 species from its allies. 



Breeding-habits. — Haunts banks of great rivers of northern 

 Russia and islands and deltas near their estuaries. Nest. — Shallow 

 depression in ground, sheltered by tree -root or bush and lined with 

 bits of flood-wrack, rushes, sedge, etc. Eggs. — Usually 4, pyriform, 

 much like those of Tringa stagnatilis, with pale yellowish -brown 

 ground ranging to yellowish-grey, marked with bold, irregular 

 patches of sepia -brown, and grey shellmarks. Average of 61 eggs, 

 38.5x26.5. Max.: 42.6x26.3 and 39.7x28. Min. : 33.4x26.2 



