THE SOLITARY SANDPIPER 



THE SOLITARY SANDPIPER. 



Totanus solitarius (Wilson). 

 Plate 68. 



This species has a good deal of resemblance to the Green Sandpiper in appear- 

 ance and habits, but may always be recognized by the dark ground-colour of the 

 lower back and tail feathers. A native of America, breeding in the northern parts 

 of that continent and migrating southwards in winter, it has wandered on rare 

 occasions to our islands, having been recorded five times, viz. in Lanarkshire, Scilly 

 Islands, Cornwall, Sussex, and Kent. 



The Solitary Sandpiper owes its name to its more or less unsocial habits, and 

 until only a few years ago no authentic information regarding its nest and eggs had 

 been published. According to a communication to The Ibis for April 1905, by the 

 Rev. Francis C. R. Jourdain, the eggs were first discovered in North Alberta in 

 1903 by Mr. Evan Thomson, who was collecting for Mr. Walter Raine of Toronto. 

 The eggs were found in an old nest of the American Robin, Turdus migratorius, 

 in a tree, and in the following year some more were obtained by the same collector 

 in the nests of other birds. Four seems to be the usual complement of eggs ; these 

 vary in ground-colour from a pale greenish white to a warmer tint, with spots and 

 blotches of rich dark brown and purplish-grey. 



THE GREATER YELLOWSHANK. 



Totanus melanoleucus (Gmelin). 

 Plate 68. 



The Greater Yellowshank has twice been recorded in the British Islands, the 

 first having been obtained at Tresco Abbey, Isles of Scilly, in September 1906, and 

 another at Winchelsea, Sussex, in October 1915. 



This species inhabits the continent of America, breeding in the northern portions 

 and migrating to the south in winter, when it also visits the Bermudas and West 

 Indian Islands. 



It frequents the margins of water-pools, marshes, and estuaries, where its loud 

 thrice-repeated alarm note may often be heard. According to Dr. Elliott Coues' 



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