THE TRUE TATTLERS. 
303 
Characters. — The Marsh Tattler is distinguished from the 
Red-shanks by its smaller size, the wing scarcely exceeding 
five inches. The outer tail-feathers are white, freckled with 
brown on the outer web, but not barred as in the above-men- 
tioned birds. 
Eangc in Great Britain.— The Hon. Walter Rothschild informs 
me that he himself shot a specimen of a Marsh Sandpiper on 
the Tring Reservoirs in October, 1887. Ife identified it from 
Dresser’s “ Birds of Europe,” and believes the identification to 
have been correct. As, however, the specimen was burnt in a 
fire, along with other valuable birds, he has been unable to 
submit it to me for examination. 
Eange outside tlie British Islands. — The Marsh Green-shank oc- 
curs throughout Southern Europe, across Central Asia to 
Eastern Siberia, and migrates in winter to South Africa, the 
Indian Peninsula, and the Moluccas as far as Australia. 
IV. THE YELLOW-SHANK. TOTANUS FLAVIPES. 
Scjlopax Jlavipis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 659 (1788). 
Toianus flavipes, B. O. U. List Brit. B. p. 176 (1883); Saun- 
ders, ed. Yarrcll’s Brit. B. iii. p. 480 (1883); Seebohm 
Hist. P.rit. B. iii. p. 136, pi. 32, fig. 8 (1S85); S.aunders, 
Man. Brit. B. p. 599 (1889); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. 
xxiv. p. 43 T (1896). 
Adult in Winter Plumage. — Gencml colour abovc Uniform ashy- 
brown, with obsolete white fringes to the feathers ; scapulars 
like the back ; lower back and rump black, the feathers edged 
with white ; upper tail-coverts white, the lateral ones with a few 
irreo-ular bars of black; lesser wing coverts blackish, fringed 
with white ; median and greater coverts brown, rather broadly 
edged with white, and sub-marginally barred with black in an 
interrupted manner ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills 
blackish the inner primaries ani the secondaries browner, 
frinc^ed with white ; the long inner secondaries like the greater 
coverts, and sub-marginally spotted with black ; tail-feathers 
white barred with black, the bars more numerous and distinct 
on the outer webs, though closer together,' and more broken on 
the inner webs, which are mostly white for the basal h.alf ; the 
centre feathers ashy towards the ends, with broad dusky bars ; 
