BIRDS OF THE SHORES AND RIVER MARGINS 
263 
sand-flats of tidal waters, or salt marshes, often in the company of the 
Curlew. Its call-note is a high, clear, short whistle, repeated seven or 
eight times in a descending scale of semitones. Food : small crustaceans, 
worms, and aquatic insects. 
Nest . — A hollow scooped in the ground, scantily lined with grass, and 
generally placed on a hummock or mound, mostly a bare one, in an 
exposed situation. 
Eggs. — Four, pale olive, blotched and spotted with greenish-brown 
and brown markings. Breeding-season: June and July (northern Europe 
and northern Asia). 
27. Little Whimbrel Mcsoscolopax minutus Gould 
M es-o-scol' -o-pax — Gk, mesos, intermediate; Gk, scolopax, snipe: min-u'- 
tus — L., minutus , little. 
Distribution. — Eastern Siberia, migrating southwards to Australia 
and Tasmania; accidental to New Zealand. 
Notes. — Usually in flocks, arriving in Australia during September or 
October, departing in March or April. For the most part it frequents 
open plains and the margins of swamps and marshes, but is also observed 
on mud and sand-flats of tidal waters. When disturbed, it utters a loud 
“Teo, teo,” more like a wail than a whistle. Food: insects (chiefly 
grasshoppers), worms, and seeds. 
Nest . — Not recorded. 
Eggs. — Not recorded. Breeds evidently on Upper Yana (near Ver- 
koyansk, about 67^° N.) and middle Lena; not farther south than 59° N. 
28. Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinella Brunnich 
Li-mic-o-la — L., limus, marsh; L., colere, to inhabit: fal-cin-ell'-a — L., 
falcinella , little scythe. 
Distribution. — Arctic regions, Europe, and Asia, migrating south- 
wards to northern Africa and China; accidental to the Molucca Islands 
and Australia. 
Notes. — There are few records of the occurrence of this species in 
Australia, and nothing has been published concerning its habits while 
wintering here. It was first observed in north-western Australia ; later in 
the Northern Territory; and there is a specimen which was collected at 
Botany Bay in December 1916. Perhaps it visits us annually, but has been 
overlooked. It frequents fresh and salt-water marshes as well as the sea- 
shore, and when on migration usually travels in small flocks. 
Nest. — A hollow (rather deep for a Wader) scooped in the ground, 
and lined with dry grass. Generally placed on a low sedge-clothed hum- 
mock, in an open grassy part of a mountain marsh. 
Eggs. — Four, stone-buff to brown, mottled and spotted with “neutral 
tint” and dark brown markings. Breeding-season: June (breeds in the 
Arctic regions, Europe, and Asia). 
