248 
PRvECOCIAL GRALLATORES — LIMICOLA3. 
tions. It nowhere seems to occur in great numbers, although in some regions it is 
now known to be less rare than it was formerly supposed to be. 
Dr. Heuglin met with it on the Red Sea from July to September, and in its 
summer dress ; this was between Suakin and Bab-el-Mandeb. Those seen were 
either solitary individuals, or were in small flocks. In October and November he 
again met with them on the Somali coast ; these were in their winter dress. Mr. T. 
Ayres (“Ibis,” 1878) also mentions procuring an example in the Transvaal; it was in 
its winter plumage, and was in company with others of the species. 
Mr. C. A. Wright speaks of this bird as being common in spring and autumn at 
Malta. lie has also met with it there in June, July, August, and September. Mr. H. 
Saunders met with it in Southern Spain in May, it being then in its fullest breeding- 
plumage. Professor Newton states, on the authority of Mr. Proctor, that specimens 
of this bird have been received from Iceland. Dr. Von Middendorif gives it as one 
of the birds of Siberia, where it is found on the tundras or barrens. Wheelwright 
speaks of it as rare in Scandinavia, and as only seen on the southern coast during the 
periods of migration. He shot specimens in their full summer dress on the shores 
of Scania. This species is supposed to breed on the west coast of Finland, not far 
from the sea. 
According to Yarrell, the Curlew Sandpiper, which was formerly regarded as a 
very rare visitor to England, is much more common than was supposed, it having 
probably been confounded with the Dunlin. A few pairs of the species are believed 
occasionally to breed in that country. Specimens have been shot in the last of May, 
in the perfection of their summer plumage, in Sandwich ; one — also in the breeding- 
plumage — was shot in Norfolk, and young of this species were taken in the same 
locality in July. 
According to Thompson it is a regular summer visitor to Ireland, and also to 
certain parts of England ; and in September, 1837, more than twenty of this species 
were exposed for sale on a single day in Leadenliall Market, London. 
Nilsson states that this bird visits Sweden, remaining there from spring to autumn ; 
but that it is found only in the eastern part of Scandinavia, and is not known on the 
western shore. According to Pennant, it visits the shores of the Caspian Sea, Lake 
Baikal, and the mouth of the Don. 
According to Temminck, this species breeds in Holland ; and he describes its 
eggs as being yellowish white, spotted with dark brown. It is said to feed on insects, 
small Crustacea, and worms, which it obtains by probing in the soft sand at the edge 
of the water. 
Messrs. Alston and Harvie-Brown (“ Ibis,” January, 1873) mention finding full 
summer-plumaged specimens of this species in the market of Archangel, in Russia, 
June 18. 
It is said to be found in abundance in both its migrations on the coast of Belgium 
and France, but very rarely straggles inland. Mr. Dresser mentions seeing two large 
baskets of beautiful specimens of this bird, in full breeding-plumage, in Barcelona, 
Spain, in May. In winter it visits Africa, ranging southward even as far as the Cape 
of Good Hope, a few barren birds remaining in North Africa through the summer. 
It is also found along all the coasts of Asia, from Asia Minor to China; but 
writers differ in regard to its abundance in the interior. It is common in Siberia, 
where it undoubtedly breeds, as Drs. Finsch and Brehm found it breeding in great 
numbers on the isthmus of the Yalmal Peninsula, near the margins of the lakes on 
the tundra, in latitude 67° 30'. As this was in August, they were too late for eggs, 
but met with the young in the down — which, however, they failed to secure. 
