Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 4 (1846).djvu/86

1252 on the sandy beach in spring, and in August and September. Never or scarcely ever nestles with us.

White Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia. Seen on its double pas- sage. Very accidentally met with inland. I know nothing of its habits.

Whimbrel, Numenius Phæopus. Not quite so common as the curlew (N. arquata), but a very regular visitant to our shores singly, in couples, or in small parties.

Greenshank, Totanus Glottis. Stragglers are seen in autumn and sometimes in spring. It has been shot far inland on the banks of rivers, but is very seldom met with in such situations.

Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa rufa. Rather uncommon, but seen every year on the sea-shore ; accidentally on the upper Meuse as high as Dinant, and according to Mr. De Selys in the marshes of the interior.

Curlew Sandpiper, Tringa subarquata. Not uncommon on the coast of Flanders when on its passage. Never nestles here.

Knot, Tringa Canutus. Common. Gregarious in spring and au- tumn. Some few appear to pass the winter with us when the cold is not very intense. Never nestles, and never seen far inland.

Little Stint, Tringa minuta. Not common. Regular double visitant. Seen singly or in couples.

Temminck's Stint, Tringa Temminckii. Not rarer than the little stint on our coast. I;have never seen it in the interior.

Schinz's Sandpiper, Tringa Schinzii. Not uncommon. Several continental authors consider this bird as a local variety of the dunlin, and Temminck says (but I believe erroneously) that it is specifically distinct from the North American bird bearing the same name.

Dunlin, Tringa variabilis. Common. Gregarious. They may often be seen feeding with the gulls and terns at the edge of the re- ceding tide and in the sheets and pools of salt water left on the sands. Sometimes nestles among the coarse vegetation on the sand-hills. Appears on our shores in March, April, August, and September.

Purple Sandpiper, Tringa maritima. This, as well as all the other species of Tringa found in Belgium, is a vernal and autumnal passenger. It runs very fast on the sand, and is then difficult to dis- cern, from being of nearly the same colour as the surrounding objects. It is generally seen in small flocks, and scarcely ever found in the marshes or on the rivers of the interior.

Arctic Tern, Sterna arctica. In spring and autumn. Seen some- times several miles inland after severe storms. This bird is not