618 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Food. — Chiefly insects and their larvae, especially coleoptera and 

 larvae of Phryganeidse and diptera. Also spiders, woodlice and 

 small red worms. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Passage-migrant (latter half March 

 to end May and mid- July to early Nov.). Frequent autumn and 

 spring England and Wales and often staying throughout winter. 

 Occasionally observed throughout summer, and breeding often 

 suspected but never proved. In Scotland fairly frequent east, 

 more casual west, very rare north, apparently regularly small 

 numbers autumn and occasional spring, Fair Isle, and occasional 

 autumn Orkneys and Hebrides. In Ireland casual autumn and 

 winter -visitor and twice spring (April and June). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — North Europe and north Asia, south to 

 Germany, Carpathians, Transcaspia, Turkestan, in winter south to 

 Africa (even South Africa), India, China to Formosa, Philippines, 

 the Malayan Archipelago. Accidental in Nova Scotia and ( ?) Hudson 

 Bay. 



TRINGA SOLITARIA 



409. Tringa solitaria solitaria Wilson. — THE SOLITARY SAND- 

 PIPER. 



Tringa solitaria Wilson, Amer. Orn., vii, p. 53, pi. 58, fig. 3 (1813 — 

 "Highest Mts. from Kentucky to New York "). 

 Totanus solitarius (Wilson), Yarrell, in, pp. x and 468 ; Saunders, p. 611. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Like Green Sand- 

 piper but crown, nape, mantle and scapulars olive -brown, without 

 grey-brown tips, feathers narrowly edged light buff ; back, rump, 

 and central upper tail-coverts olive-brown, feathers edged and 

 notched white ; lateral upper tail-coverts more or less barred black- 

 brown and white ; lower -throat and upper -breast more finely 

 streaked and usually suffused buff ; some under tail-coverts irregu- 

 larly barred black-brown ; axillaries and under wing-coverts more 

 broadly barred and edged white ; central pair of tail-feathers olive- 

 brown, tipped white and notched white and black-brown on outer 

 webs, remainder white all broadly barred black-brown ; wing as in 

 Green Sandpiper but outer webs of outer primaries, primary- 

 coverts and bastard-wing black ; innermost secondaries and coverts 

 and median coverts as mantle ; innermost median and lesser 

 coverts narrowly tipped and notched white ; lesser coverts black- 

 brown faintly edged buff, those at edge of wing darker. This 

 plumage is acquired by complete moult Aug. to Jan. or even Feb., 

 birds moulting outer remiges occur in Jan. Summer. — The body- 

 feathers, apparently not always all scapulars, central or all tail- 

 feathers, some innermost secondaries and coverts, usually some 

 median and lesser coverts are moulted Feb. to May but not rest of 

 wings. Similar to Green Sandpiper but distinguished by characters 

 already mentioned. 



