in the southern parts of our globe; such nests as we have found in northern regions were nothing more than a slight hollow in the ground, and contained four pear-shaped eggs, having a greenish shell shaded with dark grey, and spotted with deep brown. * * * * * The DWARF SANDPIPERS (_Actodroma_) are small birds, with short beaks, either quite straight or curving gently towards the tip; the moderate-sized feet are slender and bare, with the toes almost entirely unconnected. THE DWARF SANDPIPER. The DWARF SANDPIPER (_Actodroma minuta_), the smallest of all the tribe, is only five inches and a half long and eleven inches and a half broad; the wing measures three inches and a half, and the tail one inch and a half. During spring the feathers on the crown of the head are black, edged with rust-red, those on the nape grey marked with a darker shade, and those on the sides of the neck and upper breast light rust-red spotted with brown; a whitish stripe passes over the eyes, and between the latter and the beak a dark brown line. The eye is brown, the beak black, and the foot greenish black. In autumn all the feathers on the upper portions of the body are deep grey, with brown lines on the shafts; the gullet, sides of the head, and lower breast are reddish grey, the rest of the under side is white. This species principally inhabits the northern portions of the globe, but during the course of its extensive wanderings is met with at certain seasons on almost every coast. In England it usually occupies the shores of the eastern and southern counties. During its migrations, which are carried on by night and in large flocks, it visits Egypt in vast numbers, and is frequently to be seen associated with a great variety of other species. Moist muddy coasts and shores are the situations it prefers, though it by no means avoids sandy localities. In disposition the Dwarf Sandpipers are lively and active, graceful and easy in all their movements. With their own kind they live in the utmost harmony, and exhibit but little fear towards man; in other respects they resemble the members of the family already described. It is probable that the Dwarf Sandpipers breed in the extreme north of Europe, but as yet their nests have only been found in Greenland and the most northern parts of the American continent. The four smooth glossy eggs are placed in a slight depression in the earth, and have a dull, greyish yellow shell, clouded with grey, and spotted and dotted with brown of various shades at the broad end. THE RUFF.