REDSHANK. 
329 
GRALLATORES. 
SCO LOP A Cl DAE. 
REDSHANK. 
Totanus calidris. 
PLATE LXXXIX. 
Like the snipe, the Redshank breeds in uncultivated 
marshy wastes; it is most common in the extensive fenny 
districts of the counties of Cambridge and Lincoln; a few 
pairs are, however, dispersed throughout the country, an 
occasional nest being found on several of the wet heathy 
moors of the north of England, and in various parts of 
Scotland. The nest is nothing more than a few dry 
grasses, placed in a depression on the ground, or in a tuft 
of herbage, and in the near neighbourhood of water. 
The Redshank lays four eggs, much like those of the 
peewit in size and general appearance, but almost always 
easily known from them by the lighter and warmer tint 
of the ground-colour, by the smallness, greater number, 
and lighter colour of the spots, as well as by a difference 
of shape. Eggs of this species are broader in proportion 
to their length, and taper, with less curve from the widest 
part to the smaller end. Some varieties are beautifully 
marked with large blotches of bluish grey. 
