THE WOOD-TATTLERS. 
2?7 
Adult Male in Summer Plumage. — More variegated than in winter, 
the back being uniform dark brown, with large notches of white 
on both webs, and having very distinct white edges to the sca- 
pulars and inner wing-coverts; the long upper tail-coverts barred 
with dusky blackish, and resembling the centre tail-feathers; 
the head and neck streaked with white, the sides of the face, 
lower throat, and fore-neck very distinctly and broadly streaked 
with blackish centres to the feathers; the sides of the body and 
under tail-coverts mottled with cross-bars of blackish-brown ; 
the axillaries also narrowly barred with blackish-brown ; bill 
blackish-olive below, at base lighter brownish-olive ; feet light 
greyish-olive ; iris dark brown. Total length, 7 inches ; culmen, 
r3; wing, 4-9; tail, 1-85; tarsus, 1-4. 
Young after First Moult. — Differs from the adults in being 
closely spotted on the upper surface, but the spots are more or 
less rufescent ; the lower throat and chest are ashy as in the 
winter plumage of the adults, but the dusky-brown stripes are 
very distinct, and are also visible on the sides of the body; the 
axillaries are pure white, or with the merest trace of frecklings 
of brown ; bill dusky-brown, inclining to greenish-olive tow'ards 
the base ; feet greenish-olive ; iris blackish-brown. 
Eange in Great Britain. — The Wood-Tattlcr visits our shores on 
migration, occurring on our eastern and southern coasts every 
autumn with tolerable regularity, and also visiting inland waters. 
On the west coast it is decidedly rare, and only one instance of 
its capture has been recorded from Ireland. During the spring 
migration the species also appears, but is very rare. That it 
formerly bred within our limits is certain, and the late Mr. 
John Hancock obtained a nest and eggs in June, 1853, on 
Prestwick Car in Northumberland, a locality now drained. 
“The late Mr. F. Bond received eggs which he considered to 
be well authenticated from the vicinity of Elgin ” (Cf. Saunders’ 
“ Manual,” p. 593). 
Eange outside the British Islands. — The breeding area of the 
present species extends throughout Northern and Temperate 
Europe and Asia as far as Kamtchatka, while its winter range 
carries it to South Africa, India, and the Malayan Archipelago, 
passing through all the intervening countries in its flight. 
Hahits. — The Wood-Tattler is a somewhat latearrivalin Europe 
