The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 09 (of 10)Evans, A. H. (Arthur Humble)
Science
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 09 (of 10)
Evans, A. H. (Arthur Humble)
Animals; Birds
_Actitis hypoleucus_, the Common Sandpiper, breeds in many parts of
Britain, and ranges from the Arctic Circle in Europe and Asia to the
Atlantic Islands, the Mediterranean, the Himalayas, and Japan; it leaves us
before winter, however, and migrates to most of the Ethiopian, Indian, and
Australian Regions. The coloration is greenish-brown above, with dusky
markings, and some white on the wings and tail; the breast is grey with
dark streaks, the belly white. In winter the upper parts are more uniform.
Rapid pebbly streams with islands, or flat stretches of sand are the birds'
favourite resorts, where their shrill whistle and somewhat Wagtail-like
habits make them very conspicuous; they fly, run, perch, or swim with equal
ease. The nest, usually partly sheltered by rough vegetation or drifted
rubbish, contains four reddish-buff eggs with brown and lilac spotting. _A.
macularius_, the Spotted Sandpiper of North America generally, found in
winter southwards to Amazonia and Brazil, is smaller, with round black
spots beneath in summer; it lacks the nearly white eighth and ninth
secondaries of its congener.
_Terekia cinerea_, with the up-curved beak of a Greenshank, but the habits
and eggs of the last genus, breeds from Archangel eastward to the Pacific,
leaving these haunts for the Indian Region to winter, when it is also found
in South Africa and Australia. It is grey and black above, with white on
the secondaries, and black scapulars, and white below streaked with dusky.
_Micropalama himantopus_, the long-legged Stilt-Sandpiper, inhabits the
extreme North-East of America, migrating to Peru and Argentina. It has
black, rufous, and greyish-white upper parts, white tail-coverts, and under
parts with blackish bars; in winter the back is grey, while the bars nearly
disappear beneath. The habits, nest, and eggs are much as in other
Sandpipers.
The Godwits (_Limosa_) have long legs and bills, the latter being slightly
up-curved. _L. belgica_, the Black-tailed Godwit, nested regularly, up to
about 1824, in the eastern counties of England, and, like the Ruff, was
netted for eating. It now breeds from Iceland, the Färoes, and Holland to
Siberia and Amurland, the smaller eastern form being sometimes denominated
_L. melanuroïdes_; the winter range reaches to the Atlantic Islands,
Abyssinia, Ceylon, the Malay Islands, Japan, Australia, and Polynesia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account