312 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
Mediterranean and extends to Senegambia in West Africa, and 
to the Somali coast in East Africa, its eastern winter range 
being apparently Sind. In Eastern Siberia, east of the 
Taimyr Peninsula, its place is taken by an allied species, Z. 
nova, zealandia, which passes in winter, by way of China and 
Japan, as far south as Australia and New Zealand. 
Habits.— The present species is by no means rare on the 
mud-flats and tidal harbours on our coasts in autumn, and I 
have found it either singly or in small flocks. At this time of 
year the specimens obtained are nearly all young birds, and 
they may be decoyed down from an immense height in the air 
by imitating their note. I have sometimes whistled a little 
band till they settled on the mud within twenty paces of me, 
and they seemed so hungry as to disregard my presence 
entirely, and begin at once to feed voraciously, digging their 
bills down into the mud up to the hilt. I have never ob- 
served Godwits scooping with their bills in the sand or mud, 
or working their bills from side to side like an Avocet, as 
described by Seebohm, though I agree with the last-named 
writer that in its ways the Godwit is very like a Green-shank, 
or, for that matter, any other member of the genus Totanus. 
In the spring the Godwits frequent the tidal harbours and 
mud-flats, feeding out on the latter at low-tide, and \ving 
their way to the neighbouring fields when the tide begins to 
flow and cover their feeding-grounds. They are then very 
wary, and fly to and fro at a considerable height, nor will any 
amount of whistling induce them to settle within shooting 
distance. The rcd-plumaged birds which I have obtained for 
the British Museum were shot by me in May after a great deal 
of trouble, and I only obtained them by watching their line of 
flight to the pasture-lands, and waiting patiently till they flew 
over. Even in the spring-time they were in companies, and quite 
a goodly number of birds in their full nesting plumage could be 
seen with a glass, sitting out on the fields and engaged in doz- 
ing on one leg or preening their feathers. In autumn the young 
birds which arrive on our coasts are exceedingly unsuspicious, 
and they migrate right across country, for I have heard their 
call-notes high in the air, when standing on Primrose Hill in 
North London on a September night ; and I have also heard 
them pass quite low down over Bournemouth in the night, 
