TOTANUS CALIDRIS. 
855 
On the eastern side Yon Heuglin met with it frequently in Eastern Kordofan, on mountain-streams in 
Abyssinia, and on the Blue and White Nile, from September until March ; and in the summer he found it in 
pairs on the Red Sea and in Nubia and Egypt. In the latter country he says that it is very abundant in the 
Nile delta, hut rare above Cairo. It has been noticed in Algeria, hut not by Mr. Gurney. 
Habits . — This noisy and watchful Sandpiper is found in Ceylon on the muddy hanks of river- estuaries, 
the edges of salt lagoons lined with trees and mangroves, which afford it shelter, on the foreshores of salt 
lakes, and particularly on salt-water creeks which run through alluvial land and unite with rivers near their 
mouths. It is of all the Waders which frequent the island the most wary on the watch, ready to fly away, 
and rises at the slightest appearance of danger. When alarmed, or when disturbed by hearing the approach 
of man, it utters its loud call, keeps still, and watches intently till it becomes aware of his proximity, when 
it is off in an instant, glancing along and beneath the bank, or close by the row of trees which covered it 
from view, with an arrow-like flight, swerving adroitly in its progress if it happens to pass near any one 
without having previously seen him ; and when shot at and missed it generally swoops down in its flight and 
rises instantly again, darting round curves and corners with marvellous speed. It utters its note on the 
wing as well as at rest ; and when a small flock are disturbed by being fired at they all give vent to their 
excitement in these loud calls, settling down only for an instant, rising again, darting back, and passing and 
repassing the place from which they have been driven until the intruder is out of reach. They wade up to 
the body while feeding, and walk hither and thither, picking up a morsel first on one side and then on the 
other, and holding themselves with much grace and elegance. It does not associate with other Waders, and 
is not sociable towards its own kind ; it generally feeds singly ; and if a small troop are found in the same 
locality, not more than two are usually together, the rest of the company being scattered along the bank at 
intervals of 10 to 40 yards. These little troops consist of from two to six or seven birds; and when they are 
disturbed they very often separate, and each one flies its own way. This Redshank may be always recognized 
on the wing by the large amount of white it shows on the back and wings, as well as by its loud note. Capt. 
Shelley says that this can be easily imitated, and by so doing the birds are called round within shot. 
I have found its diet to consist of small shells, shell-fish, and aquatic insects. Mr. Dresser has noticed 
it picking up food on the beach when the surf was breaking on it, and avoiding the waves with apparent ease 
bv running with great swiftness. Its favourite situation in Ceylon among those above mentioned is the tidal 
expanse to a salt lagoon, where the banks are high enough to conceal it, and above this a tolerable amount of 
mud left bare by the receding tide. In similar localities I always met with it in Essex, where the network of 
creeks threading the low land on the coast used to be frequented by scores of these birds. Mr. Cripps 
mentions the fact of one “hovering” over a small Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax pygmeeus), which it was trying 
to annov, which circumstance reveals a singular trait in its disposition. Col. Irby speaks of seeing a flock of 
thirty or forty, each one a little in the rear of the other, forming a sort of oblique line, and advancing across 
a shallow jheel, all with their heads immersed in the water, and moving them from right to left with great 
rapidity. An abundance of food had here caused these birds to unite in a flock, contrary to their habit. 
Niclification . — The majority of Indian and Ceylonese winter birds probably breed in Turkestan and Kash- 
garia, though many may go further north. Yon Heuglin gives 71° as the limit of their Arctic journey ; but 
they evidently do not nest far north in such numbers as other Sandpipers. It is an early breeder both in Asia 
and Europe. Dr. Scully says of it in Yarkand: — “This species breeds from April to June. On the 22nd April 
three of its eggs were obtained, which seem very large for the bird ; they measure l - 8 by 1'23, 1*78 by 1'22, 
and 1'76 by 1*21 inch. In shape they are moderately broad ovals, a good deal compressed and lengthened 
out at one end. They have a very faint gloss. The ground-colour is grey stone, with spots, a few streaks, and 
numerous blotches of blackish brown and sepia scattered pretty evenly over the whole surface of the egg, except 
at the point, where the spots occur only sparingly.” 
In 1865-66 I had ample opportunity of observing the nidification of this species on the marshes on 
the coast of Essex. I found them breeding as early as the first week in April and until the middle of May in 
pasture-land covered with coarse rye-grass in company with the Common Pewit. The nests were one and all 
placed in the middle of tufts of grass, some of which were so small that it was difficult to comprehend how 
