TOTANUS FITS CHS. 
849 
blaCkish grey, much streaked with white ; chin and throat white ; head and loral stripes blackish brown, the 
former slightly streaked with white ; back and scapulars not so dark as in the above. 
Winter plumage (England). Above brown, unspotted on the head and hind neck ; a whitish stripe above the lores and 
one behind the eye ; upper back and scapulars dark brown, with marginal white spots ; wing-coverts with interrupted 
white bars and terminal lateral spots of the same ; secondaries brown, barred with white, as are also the outer 
webs of the inner primaries ; tertials indented with white ; back white ; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail brown, 
narrowly barred with white — exactly the converse of the coloration in the Common Redshank ; chin and gorge 
white, unmarked ; the rest of the under surface white, with dark streaks on the fore neck and sides of the chest ; 
legs dull red. 
The change to the dark summer dress takes place by a gradual alteration in the colour of the lower parts, which first 
become barred with blackish browm, while the ground-colour of the upper surface darkens, the feathers at the same 
time assuming the black coloration. 
Young in down. “ Covered with down close at the base, but with the tips radiating out like hairs ; upper parts 
variegated blackish brown and brownish buff ; forehead buff, with one central dark stripe, which joins the blackish 
browm on the hind crowm ; a narrow blackish stripe passes also from the base of the bill through the eye to the 
hind neck ; underparts dusky white, clouded with brownish buff on the breast and flanks.” (Dresser.) 
Immature birds nearly resemble the adult in winter plumage, but have the under surface barred with sooty grey, and 
the chest striped with the same ; wing-coverts, scapulars, and interscapulars tipped with whitish. 
Distribution— Layard includes this Redshank among the Waders he procured in the north of Ceylon; 
and I infer that it is a straggler to the island, probably occurring chiefly in the Jaffna peninsula. I have 
never met W'itli it myself nor seen it in any collections made in Ceylon subsequently to Layard’s time; and 
hence my reason for believing that it must be a rare bird in Ceylon, particularly as it is a species which has 
not a southerly range. Jerdon states that it is found throughout India in the cold season, either solitary or 
in moderate parties. From recent observations it would appear to be found chiefly in the north — Bengal and 
the north-western districts of the empire. It is not recorded from the Deccan ; but the maritime districts of 
the south of the peninsula must be included in Jordon’s habitat, for he collected much in the south. Mr. Ball 
includes it in his list of birds from Chota Nagpur and the Godaveri, but cites only the llaj medial hills and 
Birblium as localities ; from Raipur and Sambalpur it is noted by Mr. Hume, who likewise says that it is 
moderately common about Calcutta. It is not included by Captain Beavan nor Mr. Cripps in their lists. 
In the Punjab and in Sindh it is said to be very numerous in the cool season ; and in the Mount-Aboo district, 
where it is found until late in May, it is “ not uncommon ” (Butler). It is found in Kutcli and in Kattiawar 
too, and it is not common at the Sambhur Lake. At Allahabad Mr. Cockburn met with a large flock on the 
8th of May in full breeding-plumage ; and in the British Museum there are specimens in summer plumage 
collected by Mr. Hodgson in Nepal. I find no mention of it in Pegu or from the Irrawaddy delta ; and in 
Tenasserim it has only been found at the mouth of the Sittang river. Its range does not extend to the Malay 
peninsula or the archipelago, nor has it, as yet, been found in the Philippines. It was procured in Formosa 
hy Mr. Swinhoe; and in China he records it from Canton, Tientsin, and Shanghai. Prjevalsky met with it in 
South-east Mongolia during spring migration. It is said to be common in Japan in Yezo; and I presume 
it is found there either late in the spring on passage or in summer. In Eastern Siberia Middendorff met 
with it, and writes that it breeds not unfrequently on the Boganida river, beyond which it extends into 
Kamtchatka, and thence into the Aleutian Islands. It has not been met with in Kasgliaria ; but Severtzoff says 
that it occurs on passage in the north-western portion of Turkestan, and that it breeds there on grassy steppes 
and in cultivated districts up to 4000 feet. Mr. Seehohm does not appear to have met with it on the Yenesay ; 
but on the great sister stream, the Ob, Dr. Finsch found it as far north as Obdorsk, which is at the mouth 
of that river and on the gulf of the same name. 
In Europe it is a winter visitor to the southern portions of the continent, and is not uncommon in 
Spain, to the southern portion of which, Mr. Howard Saunders says, it is a regular migrant. The same may 
be said of Italy and Greece. In Sardinia it occurs in March on passage ; and in Malta it is a regular migrant. 
In Transylvania it is not uncommon during migration ; and it has been shot in June in that province. In 
Southern Germany, and also in Bohemia, it is commonly met with in autumn. 
