73 
Redshank — This bird is a resident in Britain, and in localities 
suited to its habits is not uncommon. In the winter months it is 
3 frequenter of the river-banks and the muddy shores of our 
estuaries and coasts, while in spring it resorts to moor and low- 
lying, swampy land, where on the ground, ne.atly concealed in a 
tussock of grass or rushes, its four eggs, stone-colour in ground, 
spotted and blotched with darker brown and black, are carefully 
concealed. Its name is derived from its long legs, red in colour. 
This bird is one of the most wary of the w.ading family. The approach 
of any suspected stranger sending it off in full flight to the accom- 
paniment of a long-drawn, whistling cry. The species may be 
identified by this call, and by the flashing white of its plumage as 
seen from the rear during flight, and consisting of the pure white 
undertail coverts and outer margin of the feathers of the wing. 
Sandpiper, Common — The Common Sandpiper or Summer 
Snipe is a migrant arriving in large numbers on our shores in April, 
whence it distributes itself widely through the land, and is common 
in many situations suited to its habits. The Sandpiper is grey in 
colour, with white underparts, the bill fairly long, and as the bird 
trips daintily along the margin of the water or flits hurriedly past, 
uttering its shrill whistling cry, it is a not uncommon object by 
river or lake-side. Its nest, which is oft-times hard to find, is built 
upon the ground, in the vicinity of the water, and is usually carefully 
concealed among the herbage, always plentiful in such situations. 
The eggs are four in number, large for the size of the bird, are 
pear-shaped, stone-colour, glossy in surface and spotted and blotched 
W'ith brown and black. This species is largely insectivorous in 
habit, and does much towards ridding our river-stdes of the winged 
pests with which in the summer months they are infested. 
Sparrow, House — This bird is so well known to everyone both 
in town and country, that it is hardly necessary to say much about it. 
It is seldom seen at any distance from the home of man, but alike at 
the solitary farmhouse and amidst the bustle of the great city, this 
saucy little bird is found. In rural life the sparrow gets a bad naine, 
and It is unquestionable that at the time of the ripening of the grain, 
the large flocks of sparrows which at that time visit the fields, must 
take a heavy toll of the ripe corn, and it is in this connection that we 
see it figured amid the hieroglyphs upon the ancient tombs of Egj'pt 
as “ Sa-me-di,” signifying “ the bird of scarcity and death.” How- 
ever it may have acted as a plague in Egypt, it certainly can do no 
harm by its presence in our large towns, and its saucy appearance 
and chirrup would be missed by many- whose fortune it is but 
seldom to wander in the haunts of its more favoured congeners. 
The sparrow’s nest is an untidy structure, its presence often 
revealed by dangling straws or feathers, and in this receptacle are 
laid its live, six, or seven eggs, white in ground-colour and spotted 
with greyish-black. 
Sparrow-Hawk — This bold raptorial bird is resident with us 
during the year, and despite the most persi.stent persecution of the 
species by the game keeper over the length and breadth of the land, 
still manages to maintain itself in considerable numbers. The female 
is, as throughout the raptorial family, considerably larger than the 
male, and it is unfortunately unquestionable that she destroys, 
especially’ at the breeding season, niim'uers of the y’oung of the game 
birds near whose haunts she invariably nests. The site selected by 
the Sparrow-Hawk for nesting purposes, is frequently a corner of a 
wood or on the edge of a glade inside a wood, and so suitable a 
position does this site appear to be that pair after pair of Sparrow- 
