Birds of Celebes: Cbaradriidae. 
763 
Nest. Placed on the ground, often in a grass-tuft, or beneath the shade of a tall weed or 
little bush of heath, sometimes amongst drifted rubbish above high-water mark; the 
hollow formed by the bird is sometimes lined with a few dead bents, straws, scraps 
of moss, etc. (from Seebohm 19). 
Distribution. Europe; Africa; Asia; the East Indies as far as Java and Celebes. — S. E. 
Siberia (v. Middend., Kalinowski etc. 30)\ N. E. Mongolian frontier (Radde 5C>); 
Corea (Kalin. 30)\ Sakhalien (Nikolski 30)\ Japan — Nipon (Fryer 25); China 
■ David fO, Styan 27, De La Touche 29)\ India (Jerdou, etc. 14] •, Ceylon (Legge, 
etc. 14)', Andamans (Davison S); Nicobars (v. Pelzeln IX]', Burmah (Oates J7); 
Tenasserim (Davison 72); Cochin China (fide Oates 77); Singapore (Hume 72''‘«); 
Sumatra (Hagen 30); Java (Kuhl & v. Hasselt 5); Bawean (Diard 5); Borneo 
(Schwaner, etc. 5, 22); Philippines — Palawan (Platen 27, Whitehead 24), Cebu 
(Bourns & Worces. 57), Negros and Siquijor (Steere 23), Basilan (Everett 75, 70); 
Celebes (Porsten 5), Minahassa (Guillem. 18, Nat. Coll.), Gorontalo District, 
Limbotto (Eosenb. 75), Luwu (Weber 23); Saleyer (Everett .95). 
The Common Redshank is found from Iceland and Lapland as far south 
in winter as Cape Colony, and from E. Siberia to Java and Celebes. It is, 
however, less arctic in its habitat than its relatives T. glottis and T.glareola', it 
breeds not only in Iceland and Northern Europe, but also in England, Germany 
— among other spots near Dresden, in Holland, and Col. Irby (14) records 
it as nesting in numbers in the marismas of some parts of the Guadalquivir 
in Spain. Moreover it is a bird rather of Europe and Western Asia than of 
North-east Asia. Taczanow'ski (30) points out that Dybowski and Godlewski 
did not procure any examples in S. E. Siberia, and Steller and Dybowski 
did not see it in Kamtschatka. Stejneger makes no mention of it from Bering 
Island, von Middendorff got only one specimen on the shore of the Sea of 
Ochotsk, Kalinowski only two in Amurland, Nikolski found it rare in Sakhalien, 
and Seebohm (25) records only one specimen from Japan. On the other hand 
Radde found it breeding in great numbers on the Tare'i Nor on the Mongolian 
frontier, it is common in Corea during the autumn migration according to 
Kalinowski (30), it is perhaps the commonest wader in China during migration 
time according to Abbe David (10), a statement confirmed by De La Touche 
as regards Swatow, South China. It is not said to winter in the country except 
by Swinhoe (14). From these statements we conclude that the species migrates 
first east and then south, or fairly direct S. E. from Central Siberia or further 
west. It winters plentifully in Ceylon according to Legge (14), in Burmah 
according to Oates (11), and in Tenasserim from the observations of Davison 
(12). It seems to be a somewhat scanty visitor to Celebes and the other Great 
Sunda Islands, where it has escaped the notice of many collectors. 
When the Common Redshank starts up in flight it is at once recognisable 
by its white secondaries and lower back and rump, and, should its nest or 
chicks be near, it flies in wide circles with a light but somewhat jerky flight 
round the intruder, uttering an incessant cry of anxiety or warning, “kei-kei- 
kei”, or varying this note with a loud whistle like “giff, the call-note of the 
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