96 
TOTANINiE. ACTITIS. 
faintly grooved, and the feet also shorter. The body is 
ovate and slender ; the neck of moderate length ; the head 
small, oblong, and compressed, with the forehead rounded. 
Bill of the same length as the head, straight, very slender, 
soft and flexible at the base, hard and elastic at the end ; 
upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge nar- 
row and convex, the sides grooved for three-fourths of its 
length, the edges thin and sharp, the tip slightly decimate, 
narrowed, bluntish, and a little exceeding the other ; lower 
mandible with the angle long and extremely narrow, the 
sides grooved to the middle, the dorsal outline straight, the 
edges thick and faintly grooved, the tip narrowed, and some- 
what obtuse. The digestive organs are similar to those of 
the Totani, as are the organs of sense and the limbs, the 
feet being proportionally shorter. The plumage is also 
similar. 
The Weet-weets are small migratory birds, which frequent 
the sandy and muddy margins of lakes, rivers, and estua- 
ries. They are especially remarkable for the vibratory mo- 
tion of their body, and their shrill cries. They feed on i 
insects, larvae, worms, and mollusca ; have a rapid, some- 
what undulated, and vacillating flight, and run with great t 
celerity. Their nest is a slight hollow ; the eggs four, py- 
riform, light coloured, and spotted with dusky or brown, i' 
Two species occur in Britain ; one very common, the other 
the reverse. 
201. Actitis Hypoleucos. White-breasted Weet-weet. 
A little larger than the Dunlin, but of more slender form ; j 
with the bill dusky, the feet greenish-grey ; the upper parts i 
glossy greenish-brown, transversely banded and undulated r 
wTh dark-brown ; the lower parts white, excepting the fore < 
part and sides of the neck, which are greyish, with faint dusky 
lines. Young with the upper parts lighter, the feathers mar- 
gined with dusky and reddish, the feet ochraceous. 
Male, 8j, 14, 4 T 9 ^-, j^-, and 
This elegant little bird arrives in England about the mid- 
dle of April, in Scotland toward the end of that month, be- 
taking itself to the sandy or gravelly shores of lakes, rivers, 
and brooks, sometimes also of estuaries, where it procures its 
food, breeds, and remains until its departure in September. 
