THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Totanus incanus hrevipes Seebohm, Geogr. Distr. Charadr,, p. 361, 1888. 
Heteroscelus brevipes Taczanowski, Mem. I’Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersb., Ser. VII., 
Vol. XXXIX., p. 877, 1893. 
Tringa brevipes Mathews, Nov. ZooL, Vol. XVIII., p. 221, 1912. 
Distribution. Southern Siberia (breeding), migrating southward to Australia in winter. 
Adult male, in breeding -plumage. General colour above slate-grey, the feathers every- 
where narrowly margined with white, more broadly on the greater wing-coverts 
and upper tail-coverts ; bastard-wing dark brown ; primary-coverts dark brown, 
the inner ones tipped with white ; primary- quills dark brown, the outer one with 
a white shaft ; secondaries pale slate-grey fringed with white, the long innermost 
secondaries lilie the back ; forehead, a line over the eye, ear-coverts, and throat 
white, minutely spotted and streaked with grey ; fore-neck, breast, and sides of 
body barred with slate-grey ; abdomen and under tail-coverts white, the latter 
barred with grey at the tips ; axillaries and under wing-coverts slate-grey fringed 
with white at the tips ; bill black, base of lower mandible brown ; iris dark brown ; 
feet dull yellow. Total length 280 mm. ; culmen 39, wing 161, tail 67, tarsus 35. 
Adult female, in breeding-plumage. Similar to the adult male. 
Adult male, in winter-plumage. Differs from the adult in nuptial-dress in being uniform 
slate-grey above, also in the uniform pale grey of the fore-neck, breast, and sides 
of body. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male. 
Immature male, bird of the year. Dark slate-grey above, and the margins of the feathers 
dappled with white, some of the wing-coverts margined with white ; crown of 
head, hind-neck, and mantle uniform slate-grey ; lores dusky ; fore-neck, chest, 
and sides of body uniform grey, darker on the latter like the axillaries ; lower-flanks 
more or less barred with white. 
Nest and Eggs. Undescribed. 
Mr. J. P. Rogers found these fairly common in North-west Austraha. They 
frequented a little muddy creek, a few inches in depth, which always had 
a stream of salt water running into it ; a few small young mangroves grew on 
either side. Further north at Point Torment they were always seen on the 
beaches and mud flats, and were very rare till March 17th, after which 
Udate they were fairly numerous and freely associated with Pagoa geo^royi 
and Terekia cinerea. 
On Melville Island they were also plentiful and in fuU. summer-plumage. 
Captain S. A. White says the specimens he procured on the Capricorn 
Islands were poor, and gave one the impression that they had come a long 
journey. 
Mr. J, W. MeUor writes : “ These birds were in small flocks on the 
Capricorn Island in October, 1910. They were feeding on the open coral 
strand flats when the tide was down ; at high tide they mixed with other 
species of waders such as Charadrius dmninicus, Arenaria inter'pres^ Numenius 
variegatus, etc.” 
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