single set, is "greenish," shading to "bluish glaucous." The
     markings are bold, slightly elongated and seldom confluent, so that
     blotched markings are unusual. The eggs are medium to heavily
     spotted, causing the ground color to be conspicuous, and, in
     consequence, the underlying markings are very noticeable. The
     primary spots are in various shades of brown, namely: "Vandyke
     brown," "seal brown," and "Saccardo's umber," which make the egg
     one of unusual beauty. The underlying spots are "drab gray" to
     "light grayish olive" and are larger and more numerous than are
     found on the other limicoline eggs we collected at Hooper Bay.

In my set the ground colors vary from "dark olive buff" to "olive buff."
Two of the eggs are irregularly spotted and blotched with spots of
various sizes; one is quite evenly marked with small elongated spots;
and another is sparingly spotted and blotched, chiefly about the larger
end. The colors of the markings are "Saccardo's umber," "bister" and
"warm sepia," with underlying markings of "deep" to "pale brownish
drab." In other collections I have seen a number of sets that matched
almost exactly certain types of heavily blotched eggs of the Wilson
snipe; these may be within the normal range of dowitcher's eggs; but I
have always been suspicious that some of them were wrongly identified.
The measurements of 79 eggs average 41.8 by 28.9 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measures =45.5= by 30.5, 44 by =32=, =37.5= by
29.2 and 39.4 by =26.3= millimeters.

_Young._--H. B. Conover has sent me the following interesting notes:

     Newly hatched young were found June 22nd. The incubation period
     seems to be about 20 days. A nest found by Murie on May 31 with two
     eggs, had four eggs on June 2, and on being visited the evening of
     June 22, was found to contain two young and two pipped eggs. The
     colors of the soft parts of a downy young several days old were as
     follows: Tarsus olive with blackish stripes down the sides, bill
     black, iris brown. In the newly hatched young the tarsus is much
     lighter. On June 23 while visiting the nest of a black-bellied
     plover, I came across a pair of dowitchers that from their actions
     appeared to have young. Not wishing to stop at the time, I passed
     on, but on returning several hours later, found them again in a
     marsh at the foot of a long, low hill. When I sat down to watch,
     one bird wheeled about me calling, and then flew off down the
     valley. The other bird at first I could not locate, but soon saw it
     flying about the hillside chirping. I noticed that as this bird
     passed over a certain spot, it would hover about 15 feet above the
     ground, giving a whistling trill. After a few minutes it dawned on
     me, that each time it hovered to give this call, it was a little
     farther up the hillside. When I moved up toward the top of the
     hill, the bird alighted close by, scolded for a while and then
     commenced the same performance as before. In this way in about half
     an hour the dowitcher and I had crossed the hill from one marsh to
     another, a distance of about 600 yards. During all this time its
     mate had appeared only twice, when it flew by calling and then
     disappeared again. Finally the bird I was following alighted in the
     marsh at the far side of the hill from where we had started, and
     began running short distances, stopping and then running on again.
     Watching through some field glasses, I soon saw a young one
     following at its heels. Rushing down suddenly, three downies were
     found hiding with their heads stuck into holes or depressions in
     the moss. They appeared to be several days old. Evidently the old
     dowitcher had led these young ones across the hill by simply
     hovering over or in front of them and calling. The bird was
     collected and proved to be a male. Just what the relation of the
     male and female to the eggs and young is in this species it is hard
     to say. From the experience above I believe the male does
     nine-tenths of the work in caring for the chicks. I think this will
     probably prove true as to the incubation of the eggs as well, but
     that the female takes some share in the hatching seems probable, as
     one collected in the vicinity of a nest showed incubation patches.

_Plumages._--The downy young dowitcher somewhat resembles the young
snipe, but has a somewhat different pattern of similar colors. The large
central crown patch is black, clouded, or overcast, with "chestnut" tips
and with two indefinite spots of whitish tips; the black extends down to
the bill; a broad, black loral stripe extends from the eye to the bill,
and a still broader postocular stripe from the eye to the nape; these
two stripes are separated from the dark crown patch by a stripe which is
"tawny" above the lores, buffy white over the eyes, and white around the
posterior half of the crown. The chin is buffy white, and the throat
and breast are "ochraceous tawny," becoming lighter and grayer on the
belly. The upper parts are much like those of the snipe, variegated, or
marbled, with black, "chestnut," and "umber brown," and spotted with
small round white spots, terminal tufts, which are very thick on the
wings and form roughly two rows down the back and two rows on each
thigh.

In fresh juvenal plumage in July in Alaska, the crown, back, and
scapulars are black, broadly edged with "cinnamon rufous" or "hazel";
the throat, breast, and flanks are gray, the feathers broadly tipped
with "ochraceous tawny" and streaked with black or spotted with dusky;
the tertials, innermost greater coverts, and the median coverts are
edged with "cinnamon buff." These edgings are much browner in
_scolopaceus_ and paler buff in _griseus_.

A postjuvenal molt, beginning in September and lasting until December or
later, involves a change of the body plumage, sometimes the tail and
some of the wing coverts and scapulars. This produces the first winter
plumage, which is like the adult winter plumage, except for the retained
juvenal scapulars, tertials, and wing coverts. The first prenuptial molt
is limited to a few scattering feathers in the body plumage, above and
below, some of the scapulars and wing coverts, and the tail; these are
like corresponding spring feathers of the adult. There is considerable
individual variation in the amount of new feathers in this first nuptial
plumage. I have seen birds in this plumage from March 28 to September 9.
They do not go north to breed, but remain in the South during the
summer. At the first postnuptial molt, in August, they assume the adult
winter plumage. In some young birds the prenuptial molt seems to be
omitted and the postnuptial molt seems to be a change from one winter
plumage to another.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt from February to May, involving
all the body plumage, most of the scapulars, some of the tertials, the
central pair of rectrices and the wing coverts. I have seen adults in
full nuptial plumage as early as March 4 and as late as August 21. July
and August birds are very black above, due to the wearing away of the
buff edgings. There is much individual variation in the extent and
intensity of the rufous and in the amount of black spotting on the
breast. The complete postnuptial molt of adults begins in August and is
often finished in September. I have seen several birds in which the
primaries were being completely renewed during both months.

_Food._--Preble and McAtee (1923) give the following report on the
contents of two stomachs of long-billed dowitchers:

     Two stomachs, of the two specimens last mentioned from St. Paul
     Island, have been examined and their contents were almost
     exclusively the larvae of midges (Chironomidae), of which there
     were more than 75 in one gizzard and more than 100 in the other.
     Vegetable débris, amounting to 3 per cent by bulk of the stomach
     contents, also was present, and it probably was picked up
     incidentally with the midge larvae. Included in the vegetable
     matter were seeds of bottle brush (_Hippuris vulgaris_), sedge
     (_Carex_ sp.), and water chick-weed (_Montia fontana_).

_Behavior._--I have never been able to discover any differences in
behavior between the two forms of the dowitcher; their habits are
doubtless similar. Some gunners think that they can distinguish the two
forms by their notes, but the differences in notes are probably due to
individual variations in a somewhat varied vocabulary. John T. Nichols
(1920) one of the closest students and best authorities on shore birds'
notes, says "the chances are there is no significant difference in the
calls of the two races."

_Fall._--S. F. Rathbun has sent me the following notes on the habits of
this bird on its migrations through the State of Washington:

     The long-billed dowitcher will be found in the company of almost
     any of the shore birds, in flocks of varying numbers, and even as
     single individuals, but appears to show somewhat of a partiality
     for the company of the black-bellied plover and the red-backed
     sandpiper. On this coast both its spring and autumnal migrations
     seem to be somewhat prolonged, for in the case of the former we
     have records from April 11 until late in May; and for the latter
     from early August until into November. It will be found alike on
     the sandy beaches and the muddy flats, seemingly showing no
     particular preference for either. When the tide is at its ebb on
     the flats the birds oftimes become widely scattered and single ones
     may be found in unexpected places. On one occasion as we were
     walking across a grassy marsh the head and neck of a long-billed
     dowitcher was seen exposed above the growth along the edge of one
     of the little channels running through the marsh. As we approached
     the bird it could be seen making attempts to rise, but this it was
     unable to do on account of being impeded by the length of the
     grass, and we drove the bird ahead until an open spot was reached
     when it then took wing, at this time being but a few feet away.

     On various occasions while we were watching flocks of the small
     sandpipers about some bit of water, dowitchers would fly past and,
     being attracted by the calls of other birds, they then after
     circling for a moment or two would alight at the pool to feed.
     When thus engaged they give the impression of being somewhat
     deliberate in their actions and as they moved about some would
     frequently wade up to their breasts into the shallow water, often
     so remaining until by some action they seemed to lose a footing
     and when this occurred a retreat would be made into a more shallow
     part. Oftentimes one or more birds would suddenly cease feeding
     and assume a posture of repose and when this took place it was a
     common occurrence to see some standing on but one leg, thus to
     remain motionless for a time.

     Dowitchers do not appear to be very shy when found in the flocks
     of the smaller sandpipers, but are the first birds to retreat as
     one approaches the flock; and on such occasions it is generally
     the case that one or more of them will suddenly take wing and put
     the entire flock in motion. They are swift-flying birds and when
     on the wing have a somewhat harsh note that is given from time to
     time. In their spring dress they are attractive, as at this time
     their under parts are a rich buff color, and a flock of dowitchers
     seen at this season with the light striking full on their breasts
     is indeed a handsome sight.

_Winter._--Dowitchers occur in winter as far south as Ecuador and Peru.
Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1926) referred the birds collected in Ecuador to
_scolopaceus_. Nonbreeding birds, or immatures, remain there all summer,
as they do in other parts of their winter range. I have taken both forms
of dowitchers in Florida, where they winter regularly in small numbers.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North America, Central America, Cuba, and northwestern South
America. Casual in Japan.

_Breeding range._--North to probably eastern Siberia (Cape Wankarem);
Alaska (Kuparuk River and Point Barrow); probably Yukon (Herschel
Island); and Mackenzie (Franklin Bay). East to Mackenzie (Franklin Bay).
South to Mackenzie (Fort Anderson); Yukon (Lapierre House); and Alaska
(Point Dall). West to Alaska (Point Dall, Pastolik, St. Michael, and
Kowak River); and probably eastern Siberia (Cape Wankarem).

_Winter range._--North to California (Los Banos and Santa Ana); Texas
(Corpus Christi); Louisiana (State Game Preserve); Florida (East Goose
Creek, Kissimmee, and Cape Canaveral); and probably Cuba (Santiago de
Vegas and San Fernando). East to probably Cuba (Santiago de Vegas);
Costa Rica (Alajuela); and probably Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. South
to Ecuador. West to Guatemala; Tehuantepec (San Mateo); Jalisco (La
Barca); Lower California (La Paz, San Jose Mission and San Quentin); and
California (San Diego and Los Banos).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: South Carolina,
near Charleston, April 30; New York, Long Island, March 20; Illinois,
Cary's Station, April 24, and Chicago, April 28; Minnesota, Heron Lake,
May 1; Kansas, Manhattan, April 21, and Wichita, April 28; Nebraska,
Callaway, April 8, and Omaha, April 28; Iowa, Wall Lake, May 9; South
Dakota, Brown County, April 14, and Harrison, April 15; North Dakota,
Menoken, May 7; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, April 24, Pilot Mound, May 1, and
Margaret, May 18; Colorado, Loveland, April 6, Denver, April 26, and
Durango, April 30; Wyoming, Cheyenne, May 2, and Lake Como, May 5;
central and northern California, Alameda, March 15, Palo Alto, April 17,
Ballona, April 19, and Stockton, April 20; Oregon, Malheur Lake, April
20; Washington, Menlo, May 1, and Fort Steilacoom, May 5; British
Columbia, Courtenay, April 28, and Chilliwack, May 8; and Alaska, Craig,
May 2, Kuiu Island, May 3, Fort Kenai, May 4, and St. Michael, May 20.

Late dates of spring departure are: Louisiana, New Orleans, March 20;
Texas, Corpus Christi, April 20; Chihuahua, Lake Palomas, April 9;
Lower California, Gardner's Lagoon, April 19; and southern California,
Santa Barbara, May 2.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: British Columbia,
Courtenay, July 7, and Okanagan Landing, July 19; California, Balboa
Bay, July 6, Santa Barbara, July 18, and Fresno, August 6; Lower
California, San Quentin, August 10, and San Jose del Cabo, August 28;
Tehuantepec, San Mateo, August 12; Montana, Billings, July 31; Utah,
Provo River, July 24; Saskatchewan, Hay Creek, July 3; Colorado, Barr,
July 5, and Denver, July 24; North Dakota, Devil's Lake, July 20, and
Mouse River, August 10; Texas, Brownsville, July 11; New York, Long
Island, July 16; North Carolina, Pea and Brodie Islands, July 7; and
South Carolina, near Charleston, July 20.

Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Chilliwack, October
29; Washington, Seattle, October 9, and Point Chehalis, October 19;
northern and central California, Easton, October 18, Alameda, October
29, and Stockton, November 5; Wyoming, Hutton's Lakes, October 14;
Colorado, Denver, October 3; Manitoba, Margaret, October 10; South
Dakota, Harrison, November 2; Nebraska, Valentine, October 28; Kansas,
Lawrence, October 3; Minnesota, St. Vincent, October 9; Missouri, St.
Louis, October 28; New York, Long Island, November 2; and South
Carolina, September 10.

_Casual records._--Occurrences of the long-billed dowitcher outside of
its normal range must, of necessity be based upon the evidence of
specimens, as it is frequently confused with the more common dowitcher
of the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Florida. Seven were collected in
the District of Columbia in April, 1884; one at North Haven,
Connecticut, August 5, 1886; Hamilton, Ontario, August 21, 1891;
Leighton, Alabama, May 15, 1891; Dauphin Island, Alabama (2), July 5,
1913; Detroit, Michigan, August 26, 1905; Yokohama, Japan, March 13; and
Yezo, Japan, October 13.

_Egg dates._--Arctic Canada: 18 records, June 6 to July 5; 9 records,
June 21 to July 3. Alaska: 17 records, May 29 to July 1; 9 records, June
3 to 19.

MICROPALAMA HIMANTOPUS (Bonaparte)

STILT SANDPIPER

HABITS

Strangely enough I have never seen, or rather recognized, a stilt
sandpiper in life. As it is often associated with the lesser yellow-legs
and so easily mistaken for it, I may have overlooked it. It is a rare
bird in the localities where most of my work on shorebirds has been done
and it does not seem to be very common anywhere. It is more common on
migrations in the Mississippi Valley than elsewhere, on its way to and
from its restricted breeding range on the barren grounds and Arctic
coast of Canada.

_Spring._--The spring migration is almost directly north from the Gulf
of Mexico to Great Slave Lake and then down the Mackenzie Valley and
other valleys to the Arctic coast. It is rare in spring on the Atlantic
coast. R. J. Longstreet writes to me that he saw three on May 4 and 5,
and four on May 8, 1925, in Volusia County, Florida. C. G. Harrold tells
me that it is a common spring migrant in Manitoba, "even abundant at
times, a flock of nearly 300 being seen in May, 1924, at Whitewater
Lake." A. G. Lawrence records it, at the same lake, as early as May 5
and as late as June 2; he calls it "uncommon to fairly common." At
Beaver Lake, in northern Alberta, William Rowan saw flocks of from 20 to
25 birds every day from May 20 to 28, 1924. P. L. Hatch (1892) says
that, in Minnesota, "they come in small flocks, and keep mostly about
shallow ponds, and along the smaller streams flowing through the
marshes," but he has "found them on the sandy beaches of some of the
larger lakes on several occasions." He says "they are shy and
exceedingly vigilant, making it no easy matter to get them."

_Nesting._--Comparatively little is known about the nesting habits of
the stilt sandpiper. Roderick MacFarlane (1891) found it "fairly
abundant on the shores of Franklin Bay, where a number of nests with
eggs and young were discovered. It is, however, very rare in the
interior, only one nest having been taken at Rendezvous Lake on the
borders of the wooded country east of Fort Anderson." A nest with three
eggs, found on June 22, 1863, is described in his notes as "near a small
lake and composed of a few decayed leaves placed in a depression in the
ground, partly concealed by a tuft of grass;" the female was flushed off
the nest and shot. The nest found at Rendezvous Lake is not described,
but one found at Franklin Bay, on July 6 or 8, 1865, containing four
fresh eggs, was "a mere depression in the ground, lined with a few
withered leaves and grasses."

_Eggs._--Four eggs is probably the usual number laid by the stilt
sandpiper. They are ovate pyriform in shape. The only eggs I have been
able to locate are the three sets in the United States National Museum,
collected by MacFarlane. J. H. Riley has kindly sent me descriptions and
measurements of these. In the set of four eggs the ground color is
"ivory yellow" with large irregular blotches and spots of two shades of
"mummy brown," and a few rather large shell markings of "hair brown,"
the latter mostly towards the larger end. The spots and blotches are a
little heavier towards the larger end, also, but in no sense do they
form a ring. Another set of two eggs is similar, but the spots and
blotches are much smaller, more numerous, and more evenly distributed
over the surface; some of the "mummy brown" spots are even becoming
scrawls. The third set of two eggs are like the set of four, except that
the ground color is "pale olive buff" and the "mummy brown" blotches are
on the average smaller. The measurements of these 7 eggs average 35.5 by
25.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes =36= by 25, 35 by
=26=, =35= by 25 and 36 by =24.5= millimeters.

_Young._--Mr. McFarlane (1891) says: "On one occasion we could not help
admiring the courage and ingenuity displayed by both parents in defense
of their young, which resulted in saving two of the latter from
capture."

_Plumages._--In natal down the stilt sandpiper closely resembles several
of the other species of tundra-nesting sandpipers. It can generally be
recognized by its relatively longer legs and by its longer bill, with a
broader tip. The head markings are also a little different. The
forehead, cheeks, and throat are dirty white, with a broad, black,
median stripe from bill to crown, another (loral) from bill to eye, and
a short one (malar) below it. The crown, back, wings, thighs, and rump
are variegated or marbled with black (predominating) and dull browns,
"tawny" to "ochraceous tawny," and profusely dotted with dull white
terminal down tufts; these dots form a distinct circle around the crown
patch, below which the whitish sides of the head are marked with
"ochraceous tawny." The lower throat is washed with pale buff, and the
rest of the under parts are white.

In the juvenal plumage in August the head and neck are streaked with
gray and whitish; the crown is dusky, with buffy edgings; the mantle is
brownish black and dusky, with "tawny" edgings on the blackest feathers
in the back and scapulars, and with pale buff or whitish edgings on the
rest of the mantle and tertials; the under parts are white, suffused
with pale buff on the throat, breast, and flanks; the wing coverts are
edged with pale buff or whitish; the upper tail coverts are white and
but little marked; the central tail feathers are dusky, edged with
white, and the others are white, margined with dusky. This plumage is
not worn long, for the postjuvenal molt of the body plumage begins late
in August and lasts through September, producing a first-winter plumage.
This is similar to the winter plumage of adults, but can be recognized
by the juvenal wing coverts, some scapulars, and tertials.

I have been unable to trace the first prenuptial molt of young birds,
which is probably accomplished in South America, nor have I been able to
recognize a first nuptial plumage. Possibly young birds may not come
north during their first spring.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in April and May, involving the
body plumage, most of the scapulars, and some of the wing coverts and
tertials. The complete postnuptial molt begins sometimes during the
first week in July and sometimes not until the last of that month, and
is completed in about two months, including the wings. A specimen taken
in Argentina on September 21 had renewed the wings and practically all
of the body plumage. In winter plumage the upper parts are brownish
gray, with narrow, light edgings; the sides of the head and the under
parts are white, with little or no barring; there is a dark streak
through the eye, but no rusty on the head.

_Food._--Audubon (1840) watched a flock of about 30 stilt sandpipers
feeding, of which he writes:

     I saw a flock of about 30 long-legged sandpipers alight within 10
     steps of me, near the water. They immediately scattered, following
     the margin of the retiring and advancing waves, in search of food,
     which I could see them procure by probing the wet sand in the
     manner of curlews, that is, to the full length of their bill,
     holding it for a short time in the sand, as if engaging in sucking
     up what they found. In this way they continued feeding on an
     extended line of shore of about 30 yards, and it was pleasing to
     see the alacrity with which they simultaneously advanced and
     retreated, according to the motions of the water. In about
     three-quarters of an hour, during all which time I had watched them
     with attention, they removed a few yards beyond the highest wash of
     the waves, huddled close together, and began to plume and cleanse
     themselves. In the stomachs of several individuals I found small
     worms, minute shellfish, and vegetable substances, among which were
     the hard seeds of plants unknown to me.

N.B. Moore watched a stilt sandpiper feeding in Florida and says in his
notes:

     It alighted within 20 feet of me and commenced feeding at once, in
     water that nearly covered the tarsi. I was surprised to see it
     slowly step along, carrying its bill immersed nearly up to the
     base, and sweeping it slowly from side to side, much in the manner
     of the roseate spoonbills, which were at the same moment feeding
     near by. I noticed no action like that of swallowing at any time,
     its motions being continuous--as described--until I shot it to make
     sure of the species.

Stuart T. Danforth (1925) says of the food of this species in Porto
Rico:

     Seven stomachs (five collected on August 20 and two on September
     17) were available for examination. Animal matter composed 70.1 per
     cent of the food, and vegetable matter of 29.9 per cent. Bloodworms
     (Chironomid larvae) were the largest food item, forming 72.8 per
     cent of the animal food. From 150 to 600 bloodworms were found in
     all but two of the stomachs. Dytiscid larvae formed 15.5 per cent,
     small Planorbis snails 7.1 per cent, and mosquito larvae 0.8 per
     cent of the animal matter. The vegetable matter was composed of
     seeds. Seeds of _Persicaria_ formed 80 per cent of the vegetable
     matter; seeds of _Sesban emerus_ 7 per cent; seeds of Compositae
     10.2 per cent, and rubbish 2.8 per cent.

Prof. William Rowan writes to me:

     In very dirty weather, particularly if a gale is blowing, stilt
     sandpipers have been noted hunting for food high and dry on rough
     pasture. This is probably an exceptional performance correlated
     with this type of weather, for it has never been observed at other
     times.

John T. Nichols says in his notes:

     Just how this species makes use of its somewhat peculiar bill is
     not very clear. I have seen it alighted on flooded dead marsh,
     wading in the puddles and picking at the projecting dead stubble
     about on its own level. Again I find in my journal reference to
     three birds which alighted in water to their thighs, and
     immediately began to feed, moving about close together, immersing
     the bill to the eyes for an instant or two.

Verdi Burtch (1925), referring to a bird he saw at Branchport, N.Y.,
says:

     I saw it catch and with much effort swallow a small frog, after
     which it lost all interest in fishing. It walked off a few steps
     and stood on one foot, all humped up and with eyes closed; quite a
     contrast to the usual alert sandpiper pose.

_Behavior._--Audubon (1840) writes:

     The flight of these sandpipers is rapid and regular. They move
     compactly, and often when about to alight, or after being
     disturbed, incline their bodies to either side, showing alternately
     the upper and lower parts. On foot they move more like curlews than
     tringas, they being as it were more sedate in their deportment. At
     times, on the approach of a person, they squat on the ground, very
     much in the manner of the Esquimaux curlew, _Numenius borealis_;
     and their flesh is as delicate as that of the species just named.

Dr. Arthur A. Allen (1913), after referring to the companionship and
resemblance between stilt sandpipers and lesser yellow-legs, says:

     In their habits, however, the two species were quite different. The
     yellow-legs were always rangy birds and covered a great deal of
     ground while feeding. Even when resting they were conspicuous by
     the nervous jerking of the head and neck. In flight they usually
     formed fairly compact flocks but scattered upon alighting. The
     stilt sandpipers, on the other hand, were quiet birds and went
     about their search for food very systematically, gleaning
     everything in their way. They frequently fed in a space a few yards
     square for over an hour at a time. When at rest they showed none of
     the nervous traits of the yellow-legs, being much more sedate,
     neither jerking the head nor tilting the tail. In flight they were
     quite similar to the yellow-legs, but as soon as they alighted they
     bunched and frequently the whole flock fed with their bodies nearly
     touching. Like the yellow-legs, the stilt sandpipers were seldom
     seen upon the exposed mud but preferred wading where the water was
     from 1 to 3 inches in depth, so that the entire head and neck
     frequently disappeared beneath the surface of the water while
     feeding. The notes of the two birds, though similar in form, were
     wholly unlike in quality, that of the stilt sandpiper being
     mellower and lower in pitch.

Coues (1878) at first mistook birds of this species for dowitchers and
did not recognize them until he had them in his hands. He says:

     They gathered in the same compact groups, waded about in the same
     sedate, preoccupied manner, fed with the same motion of the head,
     probing obliquely in shallow water with the head submerged, were
     equally oblivious of my approach, and when wounded swam with equal
     facility. The close structural resemblances of the two species are
     evidently reflected in their general economy.

Mr. Nichols says in his notes:

     On alighting the stilt sandpiper sometimes lifts its wings halfway
     for an instant, a mannerism characteristic of the tattler group,
     which it would seem to have acquired from its associate, the
     yellow-legs.

_Voice._--Following are Mr. Nichols's notes on this subject:

     The common flight note of the stilt sandpiper is very like the
     single whistled _whu_ of the lesser yellow-legs, but recognizably
     lower pitched and hoarser, at times with a quaver, _whr-r-u_, and
     varying down to a shorter, less loud _whrug_. An unloud, reedy
     _sher_ has been heard from two birds when flushing.

     Though with different feeding habits, stilt sandpiper, dowitcher,
     and lesser yellow-legs frequent the same grounds, associate very
     freely on the wing, and all three have a very similar flight note,
     though sufficiently different for identification. Perhaps the very
     lack of close relationship in these birds has facilitated
     convergence of their habits and calls, and it is not unreasonable
     to suppose that close association, even imitation, has played some
     part in bringing about the likeness of their voices. The greater
     yellow-legs differs more from the lesser, both in flight note and
     flight habits, than do these other two unrelated species.

_Field marks._--I quote again from Mr. Nichols's notes on field
characters, as follows:

     On the wing the stilt sandpiper resembles the lesser yellow-legs
     closely. Its smaller size is scarcely appreciable, even in a flock
     of yellow-legs, the members of which will usually be at slightly
     varying distances from the observer. Adults have appreciably darker
     (barred) lower parts, and young birds, particularly, are greyer
     above than yellow-legs at the same season in this latitude. The
     somewhat shorter legs do not project so far beyond the tail, but
     the proportionately longer bill (with slight apparent drop at its
     tip) is the stilt sandpiper's best field mark. Its bill is
     proportionately longer even than that of the greater yellow-legs,
     with which this species is unlikely to be confused, varying as it
     does away from the lesser yellow-legs in an opposite direction, both
     as regards size and in other subtle characters. The head and neck
     of a yellow-legs are more "shapely," differing in this respect
     somewhat as a black duck differs from sea ducks.

     On the ground the stilt sandpiper stands lower than a yellow-legs,
     having decidedly shorter legs, and correspondingly higher than our
     other shore birds of the same size. The color of its legs, dull
     olive green, is usually diagnostic. The legs are sometimes
     yellowish, and very rarely yellow, only one such having come under
     the writer's personal notice, a young bird in southward migration.
     The name "greenleg" is often used for it by Long Island baymen,
     who also suspect it of being a cross between yellow-legs and
     dowitcher. At sufficiently close range the margination of the
     feathers of the upper parts is quite unlike the spotting of the
     yellow-legs' plumage.

The broad white stripe over the eye is conspicuous in any plumage and
the whitish tail shows in flight, as different from the whitish triangle
on the rump and back of the dowitcher or the white rump of the
yellow-legs. Most of these field marks, however, are too subtle for easy
recognition, unless seen under favorable circumstances.

Prof. William Rowan has sent me the following notes:

     Identification marks of the stilt are excellent and it is quite an
     easy bird to spot in almost any circumstances. It has a rump
     pattern all to itself and is therefore readily detected in flight.
     The end of the tail is darker than that of a yellow-legs, but the
     white of the rump end, instead of forming a straight line across
     the back, is horseshoe shaped. Although the turnstone and
     semipalmated plovers are reminiscent, they are quite distinct and
     not to be confused. When wading--the birds prefer to be belly
     deep--the carriage of the head makes the species unmistakable. The
     bill is always held and thrust beneath the surface perpendicularly.
     This necessitates a straight neck. In profile the feeding
     individual can be mistaken for no other sandpiper, is quite
     distinct from the yellow-legs, and can really only be confused with
     a phalarope. The Wilson phalarope habitually wades in this part of
     the world, swimming only occasionally, but its markings are
     distinctive. A flock of stilts is the most characteristic sight and
     the species can be identified at a great distance. The curious
     position of the head just referred to and the crowding of the
     individuals into each other make a quite unmistakable combination.
     They feed practically shoulder to shoulder, seldom scattering. The
     yellow-legs of a flock are always scattered, and the general aspect
     of the individuals is entirely different. Stilts never bob their
     heads after the manner of yellow-legs.

_Fall._--The fall migration of adults begins very early, coming along
with the dowitchers and first summer yellow-legs. I have an adult female
in my collection, taken on July 5, 1885, on Monomoy Island,
Massachusetts. The main flight of adults comes along during the latter
half of July and first half of August, in this State, and the young
birds come through in August and September; but this is a rare bird
here, and the flight generally lasts for only a few days.

Mr. Nichols tells me that:

     On Long Island the stilt sandpiper is usually uncommon, occurring
     in small numbers often closely associated with lesser yellow-legs or
     dowitcher. Rarely it occurs in great waves or flights as on August
     12, 1912. This flight was made up exclusively of adult birds, so
     far as the writer's observations went. For the remainder of that
     season the species was unusually common. If, in ordinary years,
     some 200 stilt sandpipers are present on Long Island in southward
     migration, there were probably 3,000 in 1912. The earliest I have
     seen this species south on Long Island is July 10, 1921, two or
     three or more individuals associated with 40 or 50 lesser
     yellow-legs.

In the interior this species is commoner than it is on the Atlantic
coast. Mr. Harrold says that in Manitoba it is fairly common in the
fall, adults being noted as early as July 5; the young birds are usually
with the lesser yellow-legs in the fall. Mr. Hersey collected a series
for me in Manitoba between July 18 and 29, 1913. Stilt sandpipers were
formerly sold in the markets, mixed with bunches of summer yellow-legs,
but their sale is now prohibited, and they are too small to be
considered as game birds.

_Winter._--The winter home of the stilt sandpiper seems to be in
southern South America, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile, but
actual records substantiated by specimens are not numerous. Ernest
Gibson (1920) shot some "out of a flock of over 100" which "might easily
have been 200, so closely were they massed." They "were feeding on
marshy ground; and as the flock rose at" his "approach, circled and
passed away, the white under surfaces were quite dazzling in the
sunlight." This was near Cape San Antonio, Buenos Aires, on December 27,
1913.

Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1926) writes:

     The stilt sandpiper was encountered only in the Chaco, west of
     Puerto Pinasco, Paraguay, though it has been said that it is common
     in some parts of the Province of Buenos Aires in winter. At
     kilometer 80, on September 20, 1920, the first arrivals, a flock of
     a dozen, were recorded at the border of a lagoon; as I watched they
     rose suddenly to whirl rapidly away to the southward. On the
     following day about 20 were seen, and an adult female was taken. At
     Kilometer 170, on September 24, a small flock passed down the
     nearly dry channel of an alkaline stream known as the Riacho
     Salado, while at Laguna Wall (kilometer 200) about 30 were seen
     September 24, and 40 on the day following. The birds were found in
     little flocks, often mingled with other waders that walked or waded
     through shallow water on muddy shores where they probed with their
     bills for food.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North America, south to southern South America. The stilt
sandpiper is one of the rarer shore birds and but little is known of its
range and migrations.

_Breeding range._--North to probably northeastern Alaska (Demarcation
Point); probably Yukon (Herschel Island); Mackenzie (Fort Anderson,
Rendezvous Lake, Franklin Bay, and probably Kogaryuak River); and
probably Keewatin (Cape Eskimo). East to probably Keewatin (Cape
Eskimo); and probably Manitoba (Fort Churchill and York Factory). South
to probably Manitoba (York Factory); and Mackenzie (Artillery Lake).
West to Mackenzie (Artillery Lake); and probably Alaska (Demarcation
Point). Eggs have been taken only in northern Mackenzie.

_Winter range._--Imperfectly known, but probably north to Tepic
(Acaponeta River); Zacatecas; Tamaulipas (Matamoros); rarely Texas
(Corpus Christi); rarely Louisiana (State Game Preserve); and Cuba. East
probably to Cuba; and Brazil (Ilha Grande). South probably to Brazil
(Ilha Grande); Uruguay (Colonia); and Chile. West to Chile; Bolivia
(Falls of the Madeira); central Peru (Chorillos and Yquitos); Ecuador
(Babahoyo); Colombia (Cienaga); Nicaragua (_=Momotombo=_); Guatemala
(Duenas); Oaxaca (Tehuantepec); Jalisco (Manzanillo and La Barca); and
Tepic (Ocaponeta River).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in the spring are: Florida,
Banana Creek, March 10, Smyrna, March 26, and Pensacola, April 5; North
Carolina, Cape Hatteras, May 19; New York, Long Island, May 18;
Connecticut, Westport, May 28, and West Haven, May 30; Rhode Island,
Sakonnet, May 9; Maine, Saco, May 5; Missouri, Kansas City, April 30;
Illinois, Chicago, May 26; Iowa, Sioux City, May 7, Emmetsburg, May 10,
and Wall Lake, May 23; Wisconsin, Racine, April 10; Minnesota, Wilder,
May 1, and Waseca, May 14; Texas, Bonham, March 29; Kansas, McPherson,
May 7; Nebraska, Kearney, May 6, and Neligh, May 10; South Dakota,
Harrison, May 5, Vermilion, May 9, and Sioux Falls, May 14; North
Dakota, Harrisburg, May 1, and Sweetwater, May 5; Manitoba, Whitewater
Lake, May 12; Colorado, Barr, April 27, Fort Lyon, May 2, Colorado
Springs, May 14, and Loveland, May 20; Wyoming, Cheyenne, May 25;
Alberta, Fort Chipewyan, June 6; Mackenzie, Fort Resolution, May 19, and
Athabaska delta, June 4; and Alaska, Demarcation Point, May 23.

Stilt sandpipers also have been detected as late as April in Cuba and
Jamaica while a late date for their departure from Lake Palomas, Mexico,
is April 7, from Dummetts, Florida, April 14 and Port Orange, Florida,
May 5.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival for the species on its return
from the North are: Colorado, Barr, July 5; North Dakota, Benson County,
July 1, and Nelson's Lake, July 14; South Dakota, Forestburg, July 7;
Nebraska, Lincoln, July 19; Iowa, Sioux City, July 12; Texas Corpus
Christi, July 3; Ontario, Toronto, July 18; Maine, Chebeague Island,
July 19, and Scarboro, July 30; New Hampshire, Rye, July 31;
Massachusetts, Cape Cod, July 4, and Needham, July 24; Rhode Island,
Newport, July 6, and Block Island, July 15; New York, East Hampton, July
11; North Carolina, Churches Island, July 29; Bahama Islands, Fortune
Island, August 5; Barbados, July; St. Batholomew, September; and
Paraguay, Kilometer 80, September 20.

Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Sumas Lake,
September 19; Colorado, Fort Lyon, September 8, Larimer County,
September 9, and Barr, October 5; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, August 19,
and Lower Slave River, August 27; Manitoba, Carberry, August 29, and
Qu'Appelle, September 16; Nebraska, Lincoln, November 11; Kansas,
Lawrence, September 19; Wisconsin, Kelley Brook, September 13; Iowa,
Burlington, September 28; Ontario, Toronto, September 26; Ohio,
Columbus, October 4; Illinois, Chicago, September 1, Grand Crossing,
September 23, and Cantine Lake, September 28; Missouri, St. Louis,
September 12, and Kansas City, September 28; Maine, Scarboro, September
16; Massachusetts, Chatham, September 20, and Cape Cod, September 29;
Rhode Island, Newport, September 9; New York, Buffalo, September 16,
Bronx, September 19, Cayuga, October 10, and Jamaica, November 28; New
Jersey, Morristown, October 16; Maryland, Pawtuxent River, September 8;
District of Columbia, Anacostia River, October 26; North Carolina,
Churches Island, September 23; and Florida, Fernandina, October 10, and
Key West, November 1.

_Casual records._--The rarity of the stilt sandpiper makes it difficult
to determine whether some occurrences should be listed as regular
migrants or as accidentals. Some of the following cases may be on the
regular migration route of the species: Bermuda, two early in August,
1848 and one in early September, 1875; Newfoundland, Cow Head,
September, 1867; Nova Scotia, Sable Island, August 18, 1902; New
Brunswick, Courtenay Bay, September 8, 1881; and Montana, Chief
Mountain, August, 1874.

_Egg dates._--Arctic Canada: 3 records, June 22 and 27 and July 8.

CALIDRIS CANUTUS RUFUS (Wilson)

AMERICAN KNOT

HABITS

This cosmopolitan species, with a circumpolar breeding range, has been
split into two generally recognized forms occupying the two hemispheres,
with a doubtful third form, _rodgersi_, said to occupy eastern Asia. Our
American bird is well named _rufus_ on account of its color.

The knot, or redbreast, as it is called on Cape Cod, was a very abundant
migrant all along the Atlantic coast of North America during the past
century. George H. Mackay (1893) writes:

     On the Dennis marshes and flats, at Chatham, the Nauset, Wellfleet,
     and Billingsgate, Cape Cod, and on the flats around Tuckernuck and
     Muskeget Islands, Mass., they used to be more numerous than in all
     the rest of New England combined, and being very gregarious they
     would collect in those places in exceedingly large numbers,
     estimates of which were useless. This was previous to 1850 and when
     the Cape Cod Railroad was completed only to Sandwich. Often, when
     riding on the top of the stage coach on the cape beyond this point,
     immense numbers of these birds could be seen, as they rose up in
     clouds, during the period that they sojourned there. It was at this
     time that the vicious practice of "fire-lighting" them prevailed,
     and a very great number of them were thus killed on the flats at
     night in the vicinity of Billingsgate (near Wellfleet). The mode of
     procedure was for two men to start out after dark at half tide, one
     of them to carry a lighted lantern, the other to reach and seize
     the birds, bite their necks, and put them in a bag slung over the
     shoulder. When near a flock they would approach them on their hands
     and knees, the birds being almost invariably taken on the flats.
     This practice continued several years before it was finally
     prohibited by law. I have it directly from an excellent authority
     that he has seen in the spring, six barrels of these birds (all of
     which had been taken in this manner) at one time, on the deck of
     the Cape Cod packet for Boston. He has also seen barrels of them,
     which had spoiled during the voyage, thrown overboard in Boston
     Harbor on arrival of the packet. The price of these birds at that
     time was 10 cents per dozen; mixed with them would be turnstones
     and black-bellied plover. Not one of these birds had been shot, all
     having been taken with the aid of a "fire-light."

Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says:

     On May 18, 1895, I saw, on Long Island beach, a flock of these
     birds which I estimated to contain fully fifteen hundred
     individuals, while on May 21 of the same year, I observed a flock
     that had alighted on the beach, and that comprised without a doubt
     more than 3,000 birds.

Excessive shooting, both in spring and fall, reduced this species to a
pitiful remnant of its former numbers; but spring shooting was stopped
before it was too late and afterwards this bird was wisely taken off the
list of game birds; it has increased slowly since then, but it is far
from abundant now and makes only a short stay on Cape Cod.

_Spring._--The main migration route of the knot in spring is northward
along the Atlantic coast. The first birds usually reach the United
States from South America early in April. On the west coast of Florida,
in 1925, I took my first birds on April 2, and they were commonest about
the middle of April. I have found them very common on the coast of South
Carolina as late as May 23. Mr. Mackay (1893) writes:

     They are still found in greater or less numbers along the Atlantic
     coast south of Chesapeake Bay. Near Charleston, S. C., Mr. William
     Brewster noted about 150 knots on May 6 and 8, 1885, and saw a
     number of flocks on May 13. They were flying by, or were alighted,
     on Sullivan Island beach. On May 17, 1883, he noted about 100 of
     these birds in the same locality. In the spring they pass Charlotte
     Harbor, Florida, so I am informed, in large numbers, coming up the
     coast from the south (a flight on May 26, 1890), at which time they
     are very tame. They are also more or less numerous near Morehead
     City, North Carolina (where they are known as "beach robins"), from
     May 15 to 30, their flight being along the beach, just over the
     surf, at early morning, coming from the east in the neighborhood of
     Point Lookout, 10 or 12 miles away, where they probably resorted to
     roost. This indicates that these birds were living in that
     locality.

On the Massachusetts coast the spring flight comes in May. Mr. Mackay
(1893) says:

     The most favorable time to expect them at this season is during
     fine, soft, south to southwest weather, and formerly they could be
     expected to pass in numbers between May 20 and June 5. In former
     times, when such conditions prevailed, thousands collected on Cape
     Cod, when they would remain for a few days to a week before
     resuming migration.

The knot is less common in the interior, but Prof. William Rowan
evidently regards it as a regular migrant in Alberta during the latter
part of May; his notes record a flock of about 200 on May 21 and one of
over 150 on May 23.

It seems to be a comparatively rare migrant on the coast of California,
where it never was abundant. But it still occurs in large numbers on the
coast of Washington. In some notes from Gray's Harbor, sent to me by D.
E. Brown, he mentions a flock of over 500 birds seen on May 14, 1920.
And S. F. Rathbun has sent me the following notes:

     Late on the afternoon of May 16, 1921, we were on the south side of
     Gray's Harbor, Washington, on a marsh meadow bordered by the tide
     flats. At this hour the tide was nearly at its full, and the many
     shore birds that had been feeding on the flats were forced to
     retreat before the incoming waters and in consequence were driven
     close to the edge of the meadow. Not far from where we lay
     concealed a very large number of these had assembled on a somewhat
     elevated stretch of ground near the meadows border, among them
     being several hundred of the knots, these in two or three compact
     flocks all the individuals of which were facing the wind. The knots
     were resting quietly although there was much movement going on
     among the shore birds. We could easily by the aid of our glasses,
     see many turnstones, a few greater yellow-legs, these keeping by
     themselves, and in the shallow water at the edge of the flats a
     very large number of red-backed sandpipers and long-billed
     dowitchers, flanked by an immense flock of the smaller sandpipers.
     At this time the sun was low in the west and its almost horizontal
     rays fell full on the breasts of the knots, for in facing the wind
     they happened to be turned toward the sun, whose light intensified
     the pale cinnamon of their breasts, this making a beautiful sight.

     Without any warning nearly all of this mass of birds suddenly took
     wing. As they rose, the knots keeping by themselves separated into
     three compact flocks and rising high in the air then flew directly
     towards the north giving their calls as they did so, and this
     appears to be a habit of the species when taking wing. Again, the
     knot does not appear to fly aimlessly about as do many other of
     the shore birds, and is generally to be seen in flocks, the
     individuals of which are closely associated, although at times
     scattering birds will be observed; and in flight by the seeming
     course a flock will pursue, we always receive an impression that
     it has some objective point in view.

Dr. W. E. Ekblaw has sent me some very full notes on the habits of the
knot in northwestern Greenland in which he says:

     The knot is one of the commoner shore birds of northwest Greenland,
     but even so, not numerous anywhere. It arrives in the land as early
     as the end of May, for early in the spring of 1915 when my two
     Eskimos, Esayoo and Etukashoo, and I were encamped at Fort Conger
     on Discovery Harbor in latitude 81° 45´ N., we heard the keen call
     of the knots flying over our camp the afternoon of May 30. The
     first knots that come are generally in small flocks, but they soon
     mate and scatter to their nesting places, only a few coming
     together from time to time near the favorite feeding places. If the
     weather of early June be inclement the flocks do not scatter so
     soon, but remain together until the conditions become favorable for
     mating and nesting. It is quite likely that some of the pairs are
     already mated when they arrive, for the sex organs are fully
     developed and ready to function upon their arrival.

In northeastern Greenland the time of arrival is about the same, for A.
L. Manniche (1910) writes:

     The knots arrived at the Stormkap territory in couples at exactly
     the same time as did the other waders; in two summers,
     respectively, on June 2 and May 28. While the sanderlings, dunlins,
     turnstones, and ringed plovers immediately took to the sparsely
     occurring spots free from snow, the knots would prefer to go to the
     still snow-covered hollows in the marshes and moors, where I saw
     them running on the snow eagerly occupied in picking up the seed of
     _Carex_-and _Luzula_-tufts the ends of which here and there
     appeared over the snow. This sandpiper more than its relatives,
     feeds on plants at certain seasons. In the first days I also
     observed now and then a couple of knots on snowless spots on
     elevated table-lands and even on the top of the high gravel banks
     at Stormkap. These may, however, have settled there in order to
     rest after the voyage and not to search food. As soon as ponds of
     melting snow and fresh-water beaches free from ice were to be
     found, the knots would resort to these, and here the birds wading
     or swimming looked for animal diet. In this season the knot did not
     appear on the salt-water shore like other waders. Gradually as more
     extensive stretches of low-lying table-land became free from snow,
     the knots occurred more frequently here in their real nesting
     quarters; they would, however, still for a while often visit moors
     and marshes with a rich vegetation of _Cyperaceae_.

_Courtship._--Doctor Ekblaw describes this as follows:

     The courtship is brief but ardent. Whether it is the females that
     woo the males, as among the phalaropes, or as normally the males
     that woo the females, it is difficult to determine, for the
     breeding plumages of the two sexes are quite indistinguishable. On
     June 3, 1916, I observed closely the courtship of three knots high
     up on one of the plateaus of Numataksuah, back of North Star Bay.
     Two males (?) were evidently pursuing one female (?), she leading,
     they winging rapidly in her wake, contending as they flew;
     apparently all uttered the shrill piercing call to which the knots
     so frequently give voice during the mating and nesting season of
     early summer, and which one rarely, if ever, hears after the young
     are hatched. In great circles they flew, now and then stooping to a
     zigzag pirouetting and dodging, again rising in wide circles until
     they disappeared from sight in the bright sky, though their shrill
     calls came to earth as sharp and clear as ever.

     In the ecstasy of the mating season a single bird may indulge
     himself (?) in a kind of dance flight alone. He rises high above
     the hills, sweeping the sky in great graceful circles not unlike
     the stately flight of the sparrow hawk, so smooth and calm it
     seems. From time to time he utters the shrill, clarion call of the
     mating season, or the soft _coo-yee_ that is most common about the
     nesting grounds. Then suddenly he drops wildly, tumbling and
     tossing like a night jar at sunset, as suddenly to break his fall
     and soar for miles on still, outstretched wings, not a movement
     noticeable.

Mr. Manniche (1910) refers to it as follows:

     The male suddenly gets up from the snow-clad ground, and producing
     the most beautiful flutelike notes, following an oblique line with
     rapid wing strokes, mounts to an enormous height often so high that
     he can not be followed with the naked eye. Up here in the clear
     frosty air he flies around in large circles on quivering wings and
     his melodious far-sounding notes are heard far and wide over the
     country, bringing joy to other birds of his own kin. The song
     sounds now more distant, now nearer, when three or four males are
     singing at the same time. Now and then the bird slides slowly
     downwards on stiff wings with the tail feathers spread; then again
     he makes himself invisible in the higher regions of the air,
     mounting on wings quivering even faster than before. Only now and
     then the observer--guided by the continuing song--succeeds for a
     moment in discerning the bird at a certain attitude of flight, when
     the strong sunlight falls upon his golden-colored breast or light
     wings. Gradually, as in increasing excitement he executes the
     convulsive vibrations of his wings, his song changes to single
     deeper notes--following quickly after each other--at last to die
     out while the bird at the same time drops to the earth on stiff
     wings strongly bent upward. This fine pairing song may be heard for
     more than a month everywhere at the breeding places, and it
     wonderfully enlivens this generally so desolate and silent nature.
     The song will at certain stages remind of the fluting call note of
     the curlew (_Numenius arquatus_), but it varies so much with the
     temper of the bird that it can hardly be expressed or compared with
     anything else.

_Nesting._--The nesting habits of the knot long remained unknown; Arctic
explorers were baffled in their attempts to find the nest; and the eggs
were among the greatest desiderata of collectors. This is not to be
wondered at, however, when we consider the remoteness of its far
northern breeding grounds, its choice of its nesting sites on high
inland plains, its widely scattered nests, and its habit of sitting very
closely on its eggs and not returning to them after flushing. Col. H. W.
Feilden (1879) writes:

     Night after night I passed out on the hills trying to find the nest
     of the knot. Not a day passed without my seeing them feeding in
     small flocks; but they were very wild, rising with shrill cries
     when one approached within a quarter of a mile of the mud flats on
     which they were feeding. It is very extraordinary, considering the
     hundreds of miles traversed by myself and my companions--all of us
     on the lookout for this bird's eggs, and several of us experienced
     bird's-nesters--that we found no trace of its breeding until the
     young in down were discovered.

Some of the earlier records of knot's nests are open to doubt, but there
can be no doubt about the two nests found by Peary in 1909. Referring to
his own failure and Peary's success, Colonel Feilden (1920) says:

     The nests and eggs of the knot were obtained by Peary in the
     vicinity of Floeberg Beach where the "Nares" expedition of 1875-76
     wintered on the exposed coast of Grinnell Land north of 82° N.
     lat., and where Peary, on the _Roosevelt_, wintered in 1908 and
     1909 at Cape Sheridan some 3 or 4 miles farther north, and which
     was the base for his ever-memorable adventure to the North Pole.
     Probably the reason why we failed in 1876 to obtain the eggs was
     due to our ignorance of the localities selected by the birds for
     nesting. We saw the birds circling over and feeding around the
     small pools of water left by the melted snow, which here and there
     were surrounded by sparse tufts of vegetation, and we gave too much
     of our scanty time to the searching of the marshy spots. Peary's
     photographs show that in Grinnell Land the knot has its nests on
     the more elevated slopes and surfaces covered by frost-riven rocks
     and shales. The finding of a knot's nest in Grinnell Land is not an
     easy task, and it is highly commendable that Peary on his return
     from the North Pole to Cape Sheridan, and in the midst of his
     engrossing and more important duties found occasions to take the
     unique photographs here reproduced.

Two nests with eggs were found by the Crockerland expedition in
northwestern Greenland, of which Doctor Ekblaw has sent me the following
account:

     Though level lands along the shores and the river valleys, or about
     the pools constitute the feeding grounds of the knots, the high
     plateaus far back among the hills, covered with glacial gravel or
     frost-riven rubble, furnish their nesting sites. By this rather
     anomalous choice of nesting site, the knot was long able to keep
     its nest and eggs a secret, and it was not until the members of the
     Crockerland Arctic Expedition persistently ran down every clue that
     two full clutches of eggs in the nests were discovered in June,
     1916, on a high flat-topped ridge back of North Star Bay, at least
     3 miles from shore.

      The nests are placed in shallow depressions among the brown clumps
      of _Dryas integrifolia_ and _Elyna bellardi_ which grow among the
      rubbles and gravel of the high ridges. The nest is merely a small
      hollow, apparently rudely shaped by the nesting bird. The bird in
      the nest is so like the terrane about her, that she is well-nigh
      indistinguishable from it, even to one who knows exactly where she
      is sitting. Trusting to her effective concealment, the mother bird
      does not flush from the nest until almost pushed from it. When I
      placed a camera only a foot from the sitting bird she did not
      leave it. Though frightened so sorely that she panted and her
      heart beat visibly, she stuck to her precious eggs. Her head
      turned to the wind, she crouched flat upon the eggs, her feathers
      ruffled wide to hide them. When finally I placed my hand upon her,
      she broke away, trying by the well-known shore-bird device of
      feigning injury and inability to fly to draw the intruders away.
      The bird did not appear at all shy and when she failed to draw us
      away, remained near us, evidently anxious, but trying to appear
      unconcerned. Now and then she uttered a soft, but sharply pleading
      call, more plaint than protest. One nesting bird did not leave her
      eggs until Doctor Hunt pushed her, protesting plaintively quite
      away from the nest, with the stock of his rifle.

A set of four eggs in Edward Arnold's collection was taken by Capt.
Joseph Bernard, July 1, 1918, on Taylor Island, Victoria Land. The nest
was in a dry spot in a wet marsh; there was a snow bank 50 yards from
the nest and a pond on the south side of the nest 100 yards away. He
watched the nest for three or four hours, from a hill 500 yards away,
but did not see the bird again.

_Eggs._--The knot lays four eggs, perhaps sometimes only three. The eggs
are ovate pyriform in shape, with a slight gloss. In the set of three
eggs, taken by the Crockerland expedition and now in Col. John E.
Thayer's collection, the ground colors vary from "pale olive buff" to
"olive buff"; they are spotted all over, but more thickly at the larger
end, with small spots or scrawls of "sepia," "Saccardo's umber," and
"Vandyke brown," with underlying spots of "pallid" and "pale brownish
drab."

The other set of four eggs, from the same source and now in the American
Museum of Natural History, is thus described for me by Ludlow Griscom:

     Ground color varying from white with the faintest tinge of light
     olive (1 egg) to "olive buff" (2 eggs) and deep "olive buff" (1
     egg); clouded and spotted, especially at the larger end, with
     shades of color varying from "dark olive buff" to "olive brownish,"
     the intensity varying in direct proportion to the intensity of the
     ground color; where the spots coalesce into blotches at the larger
     end of the darkest egg, the color is blackish brown; the spotting
     is scant at the smaller end.

Referring in his notes to the same two sets of eggs, Doctor Ekblaw
describes the ground colors as varying from very light pea-green, almost
gray, to dark pea-green, "with brown, umber, and almost black dots and
blotches of varying size and shape over the green, and faint subcrustal
lavender blotches showing through." Other eggs which I have seen figured
or described would fit these descriptions fairly well. The measurements
of 42 eggs average 43.1 by 29.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =49.8= by =33.8=, =39.9= by 29.7 and 41.5 by =27.7=
millimeters.

_Young._--The period of incubation is said to be between 20 and 25 days.
Both sexes have been taken with incubation patches, so this duty is
doubtless shared by both. I quote from Doctor Ekblaw's notes again:

     Though we found but two clutches of eggs, we discovered many
     families of young birds. They are able to leave the nest as soon as
     hatched, little gray downy chicks with faint blotches of brown, so
     like the dried tufts of _dryas_ as to be quite undiscoverable when
     hidden among them. Three or four, or rarely five, chicks constitute
     the group. Their faint plaintive "cheeps" are so ventriloquistic
     and illusory that it is impossible to distinguish the direction
     from which they come. When an intruder approaches the little
     fellows squat at the signal from the parent bird wherever they
     happen to be at the time, and remain immovable as the pebbles and
     tufts of _dryas_ until the danger is over, even though it be hours
     before the safety seems assured. Even the tiniest of these downy
     fledglings seem able to look after themselves. They run eagerly and
     constantly about independently pursuing the moths, crane flies, and
     flies upon which they feed, often 40 or 50 feet from their mother.
     The first signal from the mother, a mellow, solicitous _coo-ee_
     transforms them into immovable pebbles or tufts of _dryas_. When
     they are discovered and realize that their concealment is no longer
     effective, they scatter panic stricken like a flock of little
     chickens, chirping appealingly to their "mother" who dashes
     valiantly to their defense, quite beside "herself" with concern,
     fear, and anger.

     Whenever the jaegers, relentless brigands of birdland, appear, the
     old knots do not hesitate to attack. In combining their forces,
     they drive full into the bigger birds, striking them from beneath
     again and again, until they chase them away. The young grow fast.
     In three weeks after hatching they are almost full grown and
     half-clothed in feathers, quite capable of taking care of
     themselves. They stay until they leave among the interior plains
     and plateaus, coming down to shore only when they are able to
     fly--and then the southward migration begins at once.

     Apparently, the knots, like the phalaropes, reverse part of their
     secondary sex characteristics, for all the birds caring for the
     young that I collected were males, beyond doubt. When I examined
     the first bird that I collected with its young, I was surprised to
     find that the supposed "mother," who had so valiantly and zealously
     shielded "her" little ones, was actually father. I thought then
     that perhaps the mother bird had been killed and that in the
     emergency the father had assumed the responsibility for the
     youngsters; but later I became convinced by examination of many
     birds, that invariably it is the male that cares for the fledglings
     after they are hatched. The female incubates the eggs, but the male
     relieves her of further care in bringing up the family.

_Plumages._--In its natal down the young knot can be easily recognized
by the grayish, mottled colors on the upper parts and the absence of
browns and bright buffs. The shape of the bill, characteristic of the
species, is also diagnostic. The crown, back, rump, wings, and thighs
are finely mottled or spotted with black, white, gray and dull "cinnamon
buff," the last being the basal color. The forehead, the sides of the
head, the throat, and the entire under parts are dull white, tinged with
grayish on the flanks and crissum. There is a broad median stripe on the
forehead, a broad loral stripe from the bill to the eye and a narrower
rictal stripe of black.

The juvenal plumage appears first on the wings, scapulars, and sides of
the breast; the primaries burst their sheaths before the young bird is
half grown. In the juvenal plumage, as seen on migration in August, the
crown is heavily streaked with blackish brown, the feathers being edged
with light buff; the feathers of the back and scapulars have an outer
border of light buff, then a black border, then another buff, and
sometimes a faint black border inside of that; the greater and median
wing coverts have a terminal buff and a subterminal black border; the
tail feathers are edged with buff and the under parts are more or less
suffused with pale buff. Probably the buff is brighter and deeper in
fresh plumage and it fades out to white before this plumage is molted.

A postjuvenal molt takes place, between September and December, of the
body plumage, some scapulars and some wing coverts. This produces the
first winter plumage, which is like that of the adult, except for the
retained juvenal scapulars and wing coverts. I have seen birds in this
plumage as early as September 30. A partial prenuptial molt, similar to
that of the adult, produces during the spring a first nuptial plumage in
which young birds can be distinguished from adults by varying amounts of
retained winter feathers. At the next complete molt, the first
postnuptial young birds assume the fully adult winter plumage.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt between February and June,
involving most of the body plumage, but not all of the scapulars, wing
coverts, and tertials. There is much individual variation in the time of
this molt. I have seen birds in full nuptial plumage as early as March
21 and in full winter plumage as late as May 13. The complete
postnuptial molt begins in July with the body molt, which is usually
completed before October. I have seen adults in full nuptial plumage as
late as September 6. The red-breasted birds reported by Mr. Mackay
(1893) as shot on Cape Cod in December and February must have been
exceptional cases of delayed or omitted molt; the February birds may
have been cases of early spring molt.

_Food._--Doctor Ekblaw says:

     Their food when they first come to the North is scarce, and when
     the weather is unduly unfavorable they are hard put to it to find
     enough to live. They probe about the grasses and sedges on the wet
     moors and along the swales and pools, and sometimes wade breast
     deep into the water to pick out the small but abundant life that
     swarms in some of the pools, mostly crustacea and larvae. The upper
     mandible is relatively soft and pliant. Sometimes they search the
     tide pools left at low water, or poke about the rocks and gravel
     along shore.

Other Arctic explorers have referred to the scanty food of the knot in
the north; H. Chichester Hart (1880) says that "of a number of knots'
stomachs examined, only one contained any food; this consisted of two
caterpillars, one bee, and pieces of an Alga;" Colonel Feilden (1879)
saw knots "feeding eagerly on the buds of _Saxifraga oppositifolia_;"
Mr. Manniche (1910) "saw them running on the snow eagerly occupied in
picking up the seed of _Carex_ and _Lazula_ tufts, the ends of which
here and there appeared over the snow." Later on, when the ponds and
marshes are teeming with animal life, they have plenty of food.

With us, on migrations, the knots feed mainly on the sandy and stony
beaches, moving deliberately along in compact groups close to the
water's edge, probing in the sand for minute mollusks and small
crustaceans. On the sandy beaches on the west coast of Florida, the wet
sand is filled with minute shellfish known as _Coquinas_, on which the
knots seemed to be feeding. They also feed to some extent on the mud
flats and sand flats with the black-bellied plover, where they find
marine insects and their larvae. Mr. Mackay (1893) says "they also eat
the larvae of one of the cutworms (Noctuidae) which they obtain on the
marshes," some of which he has found in their throats when shot. Edward
H. Forbush (1912) says: "They are fond of the spawn of the horsefoot
crab, which, often in company with the turnstone, they dig out of the
sand, sometimes fighting the former birds before they can claim their
share." W. L. McAtee (1911) says that they also feed on grasshoppers and
on marine worms of the genus _Nereis_.

_Behavior._--The knots fly swiftly in compact flocks, twisting and
turning in unison like the smaller sandpipers, for which they might
easily be mistaken at a distance. On the ground they are rather
deliberate in their movements, generally grouped in compact bunches and
all moving along together; they are less likely to scatter over their
feeding grounds than other waders. When resting on the high beaches
between tides they stand quietly in close groups, all facing the wind;
their grey plumage renders them quite inconspicuous at such times. F. H.
Allen tells me that he has seen half a dozen of them hopping about on
one leg in shallow water; this may be a sort of game, frequently
indulged in by many small waders.

Mr. Manniche (1910) says:

     Peculiar to this species is its restless character. The resident
     couples would every day make long excursions, not only to seek
     food, but probably also for pleasure. Their great power of flight
     makes them able to do this without difficulty. In rapid high flight
     they are now here and now there. I often saw them set out in a
     northern direction high over the summits of the mountains or in a
     southern far out over the ice in the firths, to return after a
     short while.

     In the breeding season the male is pugnacious and quarrelsome
     against birds of its own kin as well as against other small birds,
     which appear within his domain. Uttering a short cry he will fly
     up and pursue the intruder in the most violent manner and often he
     would follow it so far away, that I could not see them, even
     through my field glass. He would soon return, and
     having--triumphantly fluting--circled around several times, go
     down to his mate. I have seen the knot pursue even skuas.

Mr. Mackay (1893) writes:

     On the ground they are sluggish and not given to moving about much;
     unless very much harassed they are not nearly so vigilant as their
     companions, the black-bellied plover, but when they have become shy
     they are exceedingly wary and always on the alert for danger. When
     the incoming tide drives the knots from the flats they seek the
     marshes or some shoal which is sufficiently elevated to remain
     uncovered during high water; they also frequent the crest of the
     beaches. Here they generally remain quiet until the tide has fallen
     sufficiently to permit them to return again to the flats to feed.
     When on the marshes during high water they occupy some of the time
     in feeding, showing they are by no means dependent on the flats for
     all their food. They associate and mingle freely with the turnstone
     (_Arenaria interpres_), black-bellied plover (_Charadrius
     squatarola_), and red-backed sandpiper (_Tringa alpina pacifica_)
     as with their own kind, and apparently evince the same friendship
     toward the two former birds as prevails between the American golden
     plover (_Charadrius dominicus_) and the Eskimo curlew (_Numenius
     borealis_). I have heard of but one instance (at Revere, Mass.,
     during a storm) of the knot being noted in the same flock with
     adult American golden plover. At this time there were three, one of
     which was shot. I have heard, however, of both adult and young
     knots mingling with young American golden plover, or
     "pale-bellies," as they are locally called.

_Voice._--The same writer says:

     They make two notes. One is soft, of two articulations, and sounds
     like the word "Wah-quoit" (by which name it is sometimes known on
     Cape Cod); although uttered low, it can be heard quite a distance.
     This note is particularly noticeable when flocks are coming to the
     decoys; it has a faint rolling sound similar to the note of the
     American golden plover (_Charadrius dominicus_) under the same
     conditions, only more subdued and faint. The other is a single note
     resembling a little honk. These birds will also respond to the note
     of the black-bellied plover (_Charadrius squatarola_) as readily as
     to their own when it is given with a whistle.

Roland C. Ross (1924) gives the following graphic description of the
croaking note:

     The common call is a low-pitched, hoarse "skeuk," the lowest and
     heaviest voice on the flats. It struck me as a dull croak, coming
     pretty regularly from the feeding birds, and especially strong when
     they took wing. A lone bird in joining the flock would croak his
     coming. The sound can be imitated in quality and form but in a
     higher pitch. Make the facial contortions necessary to "cluck" to a
     horse, but don't "cluck"; make it "skeuk," and locate it in the
     wisdom teeth on the side being dislocated. Pitch it low; it will
     still be two tones too high. At a distance the sucking or harsh
     quality is lost. A softer, more musical rendition is given when the
     birds are well bunched and feeding, which came to my ear as
     "chook."

John T. Nichols (1920) says: "The flight note of the knot is a
low-pitched whistle, frequently in two parts, with a peculiar lisp or
buzz in it, _tlu tlu_."

Doctor Ekblaw describes the notes heard on the breeding grounds as
follows:

     Four distinct calls characterize the mating and nesting season.
     Most common are two piercingly shrill calls uttered generally on
     the wing, one of them resembling _wah-quoi_ and the other
     _wee-a-whit_, easily distinguished, but somewhat alike. The
     long-drawn-out _coo-a-hee_, or _coo-hee_, is a soft, flutelike call
     also given in flight, but nearly always back among the hills, far
     from the shore where the nests are hidden. This flutelike call
     appears to be a signal or recognition call. The fourth call is a
     sharp, querulous _whit_, _whit_, _whit_, almost like a cluck, often
     given singly, but more often many times repeated. When their
     nesting haunts are invaded or their feeding grounds disturbed this
     call expresses their displeasure.

_Field marks._--In spring plumage the knot is easily recognized by its
reddish breast, which, however, is not as conspicuous as might be
expected. In immature and winter plumage the best character is the
absence of any conspicuous field mark. Even in flight it seems to be a
plain gray bird; the rump and tail appear but little lighter than the
rest of the upper parts and the faint white line in the wings is hardly
noticeable. Its larger size will hardly distinguish it from the smaller
sandpipers except by direct comparison. Its short, greenish yellow legs
and its prominent bill might help one to recognize it under favorable
circumstances.

_Fall._--Doctor Ekblaw says:

     As soon as the water begins to grow cold, when insect and other
     small life becomes scarce, and when the midnight sun approaches the
     horizon, the knots abandon the northland, plump and strong from
     their summer stay in the Arctic, and wend their way to the
     southland. Not even a belated straggler can be found after August
     1.

The adults begin to arrive on Cape Cod about the middle of July; the
height of their abundance comes about the first week in August and most
of them disappear during that month, although Mr. Mackay (1893) has
recorded them in October, December, and February. The young birds begin
to arrive there about August 20, but the main flight of "graybacks," as
the young are called on this coast, comes along in September and early
October, stragglers sometimes lingering into November. When with us,
knots frequent the beaches; although they are found on both sandy and
stony beaches, I have sometimes thought that they preferred the pebbly
beaches, feeding close to the water line, where they are often
surprisingly invisible among the variously colored stones. They are not
shy, as a rule, and generally allow a close approach before they fly off
swiftly, uttering their characteristic notes. At high tide, when their
feeding grounds are covered, they resort to the high beaches to rest,
preen their plumage, and sleep.

By July 20 the first birds have reached South Carolina, where some
remain until October 15. We saw what was probably the last of the
migration on the west coast of Florida in 1924. The knots were there
when we arrived on November 11. During a northerly gale and after a
heavy rain on the 21st I saw several small flocks on the high and dry
sand of an exposed beach, huddled together in compact bunches and
reluctant to move. The last birds were seen on the 26th.

In the interior the knot seems to be even rarer in the fall than in the
spring, but on the Pacific coast the reverse seems to be the case. It is
regarded as rather rare in Alaska, but F. S. Hersey collected a small
series for me at St. Michael on August 4 and 8, 1915, and H. B. Conover
took two at Golovin Bay on August 14, 1924. D. E. Brown's notes record
them at Grays Harbor, Washington, from August 21 to November 2, 1917.

_Game._--Although no longer on the game-bird list, the knot is a good
game bird. It flies in compact flocks, comes well to the decoys when
attracted by the whistle of an experienced caller, flies rather swiftly,
and makes a good table bird, for it is of good size and usually fat. It
was always included in the list of what we used to call "big birds." On
Cape Cod knots in all plumages are called "redbreasts" by the gunners,
though the name "grayback" is often applied to the young birds. Mr.
Mackay (1893) says:

     When shy and coming to decoys to alight, they barely touch their
     feet to the sand before they discover their mistake and are off in
     an instant. They fly quickly and closely together and, when coming
     to decoys, usually pass by them down wind, most of the flock
     whistling, then suddenly wheeling with heads to the wind, and up to
     the decoys. At such times many are killed at one discharge.

Dr. L. C. Sanford (1903) writes:

     One of my pleasant recollections of shore-bird shooting is
     associated with this bird. I give the date with some hesitation,
     for it was May 10, near Cobb Island. During several days previous
     redbreast had been flying, but the tides were not suitable, and it
     was useless to try for them. Here the flight is along the outer
     beach, at the edge of the surf, the birds stopping to feed on the
     mud flats exposed by the falling tide. The sun was not up and the
     water still high as we set the decoys off one of the points along
     the beach, close to the breaking waves; the blind was of seaweed,
     and before we were settled the first flock passed by high up, but a
     pair of birds dropped out of it and hovered in front of us; another
     minute and 10 more swung in. Flock after flock, from a few birds to
     hundreds, passed in the same line, coming into sight over the
     ocean, striking the beach and following its edge--now low just over
     the surf, now high up--the first light of sunrise giving them a
     black appearance. The undulating character of the flight was
     unmistakable and was in evidence when the dark line first
     appeared--now distinct on the horizon, presently out of sight in
     the waves, all of a sudden rising up over the decoys to circle in.
     Our chance lasted only a few minutes, for when the flat was exposed
     the birds all passed by out of range; occasionally we whistled in
     an odd one, but the flocks shied off. As we carried back our basket
     of birds it did not occur to us that the experience of that morning
     would be our last flight of redbreast, but it was.

DISTRIBUTION

_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the knot in North America is
imperfectly known, but appears to extend north to Franklin (Winter
Harbor, Victoria Land, and Goose Fiord), and Grinnell Land (Fort
Conger). East to Greenland (Floeberg Beach, Cape Sheridan, North Star
Bay, Tuctoo Valley, Bowdoin Bay, and Disco Bay). South to southwestern
Greenland (Disco Bay) and southern Franklin (Igloolik, Winter Island,
and Cambridge Bay). West to Franklin (Cambridge Bay and Winter Harbor).
Birds breeding in northeast Greenland may be the European form.

It has also been detected in summer in Alaska at Point Barrow, Point
Hope, St. Michael, and other localities, where it may possibly breed.

_Winter range._--Not well known but in the Western Hemisphere, seemingly
most of South America, from Patagonia (Tierra del Fuego) and Argentina
(Barracus al Sud and Cape San Antonio) on the south, Peru (Santa Luzia
and probably Tumbez) on the west, Brazil (Iguape) on the east, to
possibly Jamaica, Barbados, rarely Louisiana (Vermilion Bay), and
Florida (St. Marks).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival on the Atlantic coast
are: South Carolina, Frogmore, April 8, and Egg Bank, April 16; North
Carolina, Pea and Brodie Islands, April 18; Virginia, Locustville, April
10; New Jersey, Absecon Bay, April 21; New York, Long Beach, Long
Island, April 29, and Canandaigua Lake, May 23; Connecticut, Norwalk,
May 24, Fairfield, May 29, and Westport, May 30; Massachusetts,
Tuckernuck Island, May 11, Franklin, Igloolik, June 14; and Greenland,
Jacobshaven, June 3, and Cape Union, June 5.

On the Pacific coast, early dates are: California, Alameda, April 25;
Washington, Destruction Island Light, May 6, and Willapa Harbor, May 11
[once at Dungeness, on February 25, 1915 (Cantwell)]; British Colombia,
Fort Simpson, May 13; and Alaska, Nulato, May 10, Craig, May 13,
Admiralty Island, May 14, St. Michael, May 29, and Point Barrow, May 30.

Late dates of spring departure are: South Carolina, near Charleston,
June 5; Virginia, Cape Charles, June 10, Cobb Island, June 25, and
Wallop's Island, June 27; New Jersey, Cape May County, June 3, and
Elizabeth, June 11; New York, Amityville, May 31, and Geneva, June 8;
and Massachusetts, Cape Cod, June 13, Harvard, June 19, Marthas
Vineyard, June 24, and Monomoy Island, June 28.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in fall migration are:
Washington, Lake Oxette, July 12; California, Alameda, August 1,
Monterey, August 7, and Santa Barbara, August 21; Massachusetts, Cape
Cod, July 15, Marthas Vineyard, July 24, Dennis, July 27, and Monomoy
Island, July 30; Rhode Island, Newport, August 1; Connecticut, Saybrook,
August 21; New York, East Hampton, July 27, Dutchess County, July 30,
Rockaway, August 12, Montauk Point Light, August 14, And Amityville,
August 23; New Jersey, Tuckerton, July 3; Virginia, Wallops Island,
August 12; North Carolina, Pea and Brodie Islands, July 8; South
Carolina, near Charleston, July 20; Florida, Marco, July 1, and Lesser
Antilles, Barbados, September 6.

Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, St. Michael, August 14, Point
Barrow, August 17, and Homer, August 23; Washington, Grays Harbor,
November 2; California, Anaheim Landing, October 3, and San Diego,
October 9; Greenland, Discovery Bay, August 25; Franklin, Winter Island,
August 17; Prince Edward Island, Alexandra, September 24; Quebec,
Godbout, August 7, Henley Harbor, August 23, and Old Fort Island,
September 30; Massachusetts, Marthas Vineyard, October 8, and Monomoy
Island, October 28; Rhode Island, South Auburn, September 3, and
Newport, September 14; Connecticut, Saybrook, September 25; New York,
Shinnecock Bay, September 16, Freeport, September 26, Penn Yan, October
15, and Amityville, October 16; Virginia, Wallops Island, September 29;
North Carolina, Church's Island, September 30; South Carolina, near
Charleston, October 15; Georgia, Savannah, September 24; and Lesser
Antilles, Barbados, December 27.

_Casual records._--The knot has on numerous occasions been detected in
the Central or Western States or other points outside of its normal
range. Among these are Vera Cruz, Rivera, April 13, 1904; Texas, Corpus
Christi, July 1 to 10, 1887; Kansas, Hamilton, September 19, 1911, and
Lawrence, April 17, 1871; Nebraska, Omaha, September 30, 1893, and
Lincoln, May 16, 1896, and August 27, 1896; Indiana, near Millers,
August 24, 1896; Minnesota, Lanesboro, September 7, 1885; and Montana,
Lake Bowdoin, October 4, 1915; Ohio, Sandusky River, spring of 1894, and
Licking Reservoir, May 27, 1878; Ontario (occasionally common in
spring), Point Pelee, September 15, 1906, and May 30, 1907, and Ottawa,
June 4, 1890; Michigan, Port Austin, September 4, 1899, Benton Harbor,
June 23, 1904, Forestville, June 20, 1903, Charity Island, September 1,
1910, and Oak Point, August 20-21, 1908; and Alberta, Beaverhill Lake,
May 19-23, 1924.

_Egg dates._--Greenland: 3 records, June 22 and 30, and July 9. Victoria
Land: 3 records, July 1, 9, and 22. Grinnell Land: 2 records, June 26
and 27.

CALIDRIS TENUIROSTRIS (Horsfield)

EASTERN ASIATIC KNOT

The only North American record for this little known Asiatic species was
established by Alfred M. Bailey (1925), when he captured a single
specimen in northwestern Alaska on May 28, 1922. He says:

     One specimen of this species, an adult male in light plumage, was
     taken at Cape Prince of Wales on May 28. At this date the tundra
     was still covered with snow, but the higher benches of the cape
     were becoming bare. The first arrivals of many species were just
     making their appearance, using these high exposed spots as resting
     places. Among these numerous migrants I took this one straggler. It
     was so tame I collected it with my .32 aux.

It is larger than our knot and is also known as the Japanese knot.
Seebohm (1888) says:

     It is the only _Tringa_ with white on the upper tail coverts which
     has a straight bill more than an inch and a half long. In summer
     plumage it has no chestnut on the under parts, and the chestnut on
     the upper parts is principally confined to the scapulars. In winter
     plumage the two knots scarcely differ except in size. It is very
     closely allied to the common knot.

     The breeding grounds of the Japanese knot are unknown, but
     Middendorff observed it during the whole summer on the southern
     shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, though he obtained no evidence of
     its nesting there. It has occurred on migration in the valley of
     the Ussuri, on the coasts of Japan and China, and on most of the
     islands of the Malay Archipelago. It winters on the coast of
     Australia, has occurred on the Andaman Islands, and in
     considerable numbers on the coast of Scinde.

ARQUATELLA MARITIMA (Brünnich)

PURPLE SANDPIPER

HABITS

This hardy northern bird has well been called "winter snipe" and "rock
snipe," for it is known to us only as a winter visitor on rocky shores.
Although it does not breed quite as far north as some species, it
migrates for a shorter distance and winters farther north than any other
wader; in fact, the southern limit of its winter range is far north of
the normal winter range of any other. A. L. V. Manniche (1910) saw only
three purple sandpipers during three seasons in northeastern Greenland,
and the Crockerland expedition saw only one in northwestern Greenland in
four years. Both expeditions were probably north of its normal breeding
range.

_Spring._--As soon as spring asserts itself the purple sandpipers begin
to desert their main winter range on the coast of New England, some
leaving in March and only a very few stragglers lingering into May. On
May 29, 1909, we saw a few late migrants on the south coast of Labrador,
where I secured one in full nuptial plumage. Ludwig Kumlien (1879) says
that the purple sandpiper is the first wader to arrive in the spring at
Cumberland Sound.

     The 4th of June Is the earliest date I met them at Annanactook;
     this was during a heavy snowstorm, and the earliest date possible
     that they could have found any of the rocks bare at low tide. The
     flock lit on the top of one of the small islands in the harbor and
     sheltered themselves from the storm by creeping behind and
     underneath ledges of rocks; they then huddled together like a flock
     of quails in winter. I have often noticed the same habit with them
     in late autumn, while they were waiting for low tide.

_Courtship._--The same writer refers to a courtship performance, as
follows:

     As the breeding season approaches the males have a peculiar cry,
     resembling somewhat that of _Actiturus bartramius_, but lower and
     not so prolonged. When this note is uttered they assume a very
     dignified strut, and often raise the wings up over the back and
     slowly fold them again, like the upland plover.

Aubyn Trevor-Battye (1897) says:

     Like all sandpipers, they do much of their courtship on the wing,
     chasing one another in circles with rapid turns and shifts. On the
     ground I have seen the male bird approach the female with trailing
     wings, arched back, and head low down, occasionally hopping, like a
     courting pigeon.

This species seems to be rather rare in Baffin Land. I have two sets of
eggs, given to me by Capt. Donald B. MacMillan, collected with the
parent bird at Cape Dorset. J. Dewey Soper collected a female there,
with enlarged ovaries, on June 8; but he saw only three birds during
"the spring and summer of 1926 along the south coast of Baffin Island."
He says in his notes:

     The first sandpiper observed by me the following spring was of this
     species, a solitary male collected on June 2, 1925, at Nettilling
     Lake. The lakes were still ice-bound and the land mostly covered
     with snow, but here and there were small open pools. Along the
     border of one of these the bird was feeding in the thin layer of
     thawed mud among the grassy hummocks. On June 11, in the same
     locality near the Takuirbing River, several were observed and
     collected. When flushed they emit a grating _ick-ick-ick_ and when
     not too hard pressed will often light again a few yards away. They
     flush sluggishly, and when not come upon too abruptly will
     frequently elevate the wings leisurely above the back, as though
     stretching them before taking flight. On the whole, at this time,
     they were comparatively fearless and permitted close approach. Only
     one was observed giving a vocal performance on the wing. It rose
     slowly from the ground to a height of 15 or 20 feet and leisurely
     flying over the tundra gave a series of low, musical staccato notes
     resembling _to-wit-to-wit-to-wit-to-wit_, etc. The performance
     continues unbrokenly while the bird remains in the air over a
     distance of 25 or 30 yards.

_Nesting._--Rev. Henry H. Slater (1898) says:

     In the extreme north the nest is often quite close to the sea,
     little above high-water mark. But in Iceland and at the southern
     borders of its breeding range generally the purple sandpiper
     usually nests on the fells. My first nest, from which I shot the
     female mentioned above, was near the top of a high ridge in north
     Iceland, nearly 1,600 feet above sea level, on a small bare patch
     of recently uncovered ground amongst snow fields; it was a slight
     hollow in a withered tuft of _Dryas octopetala_, and rather a
     substantial nest for a wader, consisting of a good handful of
     leaves of _Dryas_ and _Salix lanata_, a little short grass, two
     white ptarmigan's feathers and a few of the parents'.

W. C. Hewitson (1856) quotes Mr. Wolley as saying that in the Faeroes,
"it breeds sparingly on the very tops of high mountains, where I found
its young at the end of June still unable to fly."

Messrs. E. Evans and W. Sturge (1859) found the purple sandpiper
breeding in Spitsbergen; they say:

     The purple sandpiper (_Tringa maritina_, Brünn.) was very abundant
     in Coal Bay (on the south side of Ice Sound, so named on account of
     a small quantity of poor coal being found there), and we found four
     of their nests on the high field. Beautiful little nests they were,
     deep in the ground, and lined with stalks of grass and leaves of
     the dwarf birch (_Betula nana_, L.), containing mostly four eggs of
     an olive green, handsomely mottled with purplish brown, chiefly at
     the larger end. We watched this elegant little bird--the only one
     of the _Grallatores_ we saw--with much interest as it waded into
     some pool of snow water or ran along the shingle, every now and
     then raising its wings over its back and exhibiting the delicate
     tint of the under side, at the same time uttering its loud shrill
     whistle.

No recent accounts of the nesting habits of this species seem to have
been published and the data on eggs in collections seem to be rather
scanty. I have never found a nest myself. Both sexes are said to
incubate the eggs and share in the care of the young. The period of
incubation is over 20 days.

_Eggs._--A very good description of the eggs is given by Seebohm (1884)
as follows:

     The eggs of the purple sandpiper are four in number and remarkably
     handsome. They vary in ground color from pale olive to pale buffish
     brown, boldly mottled, blotched, and streaked with reddish brown
     and very dark blackish brown. On some eggs the blotches are large,
     and chiefly distributed in an oblique direction round the large
     end; on others they are more evenly distributed over the entire
     surface; and on many a few very dark scratches, spots, or streaks
     are scattered here and there amongst the brown markings. The
     underlying markings are numerous and conspicuous, and are pale
     violet gray or grayish brown in color.

Frank Poynting's (1895) colored plate of 12 selected eggs well
illustrates the great variation in the beautiful eggs of this species.
There are two distinct types of ground color, green and buff. In the
green types the colors vary from "yellowish glaucous" to a light shade
of "grape green"; and in the buff types from "cream buff" to "dark olive
buff." They are sometimes evenly, but more often irregularly, spotted
and blotched with various shades of brown, "sepia," "bister," and "snuff
brown," sometimes boldly marked with "chocolate" and "burnt umber" and
sometimes with great splashes of "vinaceous brown" overlaid with
blotches of "chestnut brown" and "bay," a handsome combination. The
measurements of 100 eggs, supplied by Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, average
37.3 by 26.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
=40= by =28=, =35.1= by 26.6 and 37.3 by =24.8= millimeters.

_Plumages._--The nestling is described in Witherby's Handbook (1920) as
follows:

     Fore part of crown warm buff; black-brown median line from base of
     upper mandible to crown; crown and upper parts velvety black-brown,
     down with numerous cream and warm buff tips; nape light buff, down
     with sooty-brown bases; from base of upper mandible above eye to
     nape a black-brown streak, another short one from base of lower
     mandible, ear coverts as crown; cheeks warm or light buff, down
     with black-brown tips; remaining under parts grayish white, down
     sooty brown toward base.

The juvenal plumage is much like that of the summer adult, except that
the feathers of the crown are tipped with creamy white, as are also the
central tail feathers; the feathers of the mantle and scapulars are
edged with buffy white; and the wing coverts and tertials are broadly
edged with the same color or tipped with pale pinkish buff. The juvenal
body plumage is usually molted before the birds reach us on migration,
when young birds, in first winter plumage, can be recognized by the
broad white edgings of the median coverts and by a few retained
scapulars and tertials. Some of these juvenal feathers are retained
through the next, the partial prenuptial molt. Subsequent molts and
plumages are as in the adult.

Adults have a complete postnuptial molt between August and November and
a partial prenuptial molt from January to May; this latter involves most
of the body plumage, but not all of the scapulars, back, rump, or upper
tail coverts.

_Food._--The favorite feeding places of purple sandpipers are the
wave-washed rocky shores of islands or promontories along the seashore,
with a decided preference for islands. Here, where the rocks are fringed
with rockweed, waving in the restless waves, or covered with barnacles
and various slimy products of the sea, these sure-footed little birds
are quite at home on the slippery rocks, as they glean abundant food at
the water's edge and skillfully avoid being washed away. Yarrell (1871)
says that--

     it may be seen busily employed turning over stones and searching
     among seaweed for the smaller shrimps and sandhoppers which are to
     be found there, and it also feeds on young crabs, marine insects,
     and the soft bodies of animals inhabiting small shells.

Witherby's Handbook (1920) gives its food as--

     varied, including insects: coleoptera (_Otiorhynchus_), diptera
     (larvae of _Chironomus_), also spiders, _Thysanura_ (or
     _Collembola_), annelida and crustacea (_Amphipoda_, _Isopoda_,
     _Orchestia_, _Idotea_, _Gammarus_, and _Podocerus_) as well as
     mollusca (_Mytilus_, _Littorina_, _Purpura_, etc.). Vegetable
     matter is also eaten including algae, grasses, moss, buds, and
     leaves of phanerogams and remains of cryptogams. Seeds of
     _Cochlearia_ have been identified and small fish (_Gobius_) nearly
     1 inch long, as well as ova of lumpsucker.

_Behavior._--The flight of the purple sandpiper suggests at times that
of the spotted sandpiper, for when disturbed singly along the shore it
is apt to fly out over the water with rapid downward wing strokes and,
describing a large semicircle, return to the shore some distance ahead.
When flying in a flock the birds are often closely bunched, the whole
flock wheeling and turning in unison, showing alternately their dark
bodies and their white bellies, in true sandpiper fashion. As a rule
they do not make very long flights or fly very high. Their migrations
are short and deliberate. They are rather sedentary birds and can
generally be found in certain favorite localities all winter and year
after year. But, as they show a decided preference for the outer sides
of surf-swept ledges, they are not often seen from the land. They can
swim almost as well as phalaropes and in calm weather they will often
alight on half submerged seaweed or on the surface of the water. Dr.
Charles W. Townsend (1905), who watched a flock on an island off Cape
Ann, describes their actions as follows:

     They finally alighted on a steeply sloping rock close to the
     water's edge on the northeastern point of the island so that they
     could be watched with binoculars and telescope from the shore.
     Fifty-eight birds were in sight and there were fully half as many
     more on the other side of the rock, hidden from view, except when
     they jumped up from time to time. The flock must have numbered 75.
     The tide was high and the birds were evidently trying to kill time
     until low water, when they could gather their food from the seaweed
     covered rocks. Most of them were resting, squatting on the rock
     with head to the wind, their dark purplish-gray backs contrasting
     strongly with their white bellies. Others were slowly raising their
     wings over their backs, showing the white under surfaces. Again
     they were chasing each other, making the sleepy ones jump suddenly,
     or running up the rock to escape an unusually high wave, fluttering
     with their wings to help themselves. From time to time they were
     joined by bunches of from 5 to 10 others.

_Voice._--This species is a rather silent bird, but John T. Nichols says
in his notes: "When about to take wing a flock of purple sandpipers is
rather noisy, keeping up a swallowlike chatter, each single-syllabled
note suggestive of the _flip_ of the tree swallow and of the _kip_ of
the sanderling."

_Field marks._--A sandpiper seen on a rocky shore in New England in
winter is likely to be a purple sandpiper. Mr. Nichols suggests the
following field characters:

     The purple sandpiper is a stockily built bird, which stands low and
     has a moderately long bill. Its breast and upper parts of a dark
     purplish gray match admirably the rocks on which it lives, and
     although darker are not very different in tone from the coloring of
     the red-backed sandpiper in fall, with which species it might
     possibly be confused. Both have a white line in the wing shown in
     flight, but in the purple sandpiper this broadens to a more
     conspicuous wedge of white backward on the inner secondaries and
     extends across the bases of the primaries as narrow edging to their
     coverts, rather than turning the bend of the wing into the
     primaries. The best field character is the color of legs and feet,
     which are of a dull but strong yellow, appreciable at a
     considerable distance. The basal third of the bill is of the same,
     but tinged with orange.

_Fall._--The fall migration of the purple sandpiper is a gradual
southward movement along the Atlantic coast. It disappears from its
breeding grounds early in September, but the main flight does not reach
New England until November or December. What few stragglers have been
seen on the Great Lakes were probably migrants from Hudson Bay. E. W.
Hadeler writes to me that he observed one on the shore of Lake Erie,
Painesville, Ohio, from October 22 to November 12, 1916, and again from
October 24 to November 11, 1922. It is interesting to note the
uniformity of the dates and the fact that the species was seen always on
a stone breakwater, apparently feeding exclusively on the water-washed
stones.

_Winter._--The purple sandpiper is the "winter snipe" of the New England
coast, where flocks of from 25 to 75 or more may be found regularly on
certain outlying rocky ledges. Here they seek shelter among the rocks
from the flying spray and from the wintry blasts; and here they find
their food washed up by the waves or hidden in the half floating beds of
rockweed. On December 10, 1913, while we were shooting eiders on one of
the outer ledges in Jericho Bay, Maine, a flock of about 50 of these
hardy little birds seemed out of place in our rough surroundings. It was
a cold, blustering day; the surf was breaking over the rocks and the sea
was white with combing breakers; even the hardy sea ducks sought the
shelter of the ledges; but these plump little birds seemed quite happy
and contented as they huddled together in a compact flock on the
slippery rocks. They were very tame and confiding; even the reports of
our guns served only to make them circle out around the ledge a few
times and then return to its shelter. Evidently this was their winter
home. We did not have the heart to shoot any of them.

Mr. Nichols tells me that "very occasionally in winter, early spring or
late fall, one finds single birds on the sandy beaches of New York or
New Jersey south of the rocks."

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--Europe, Asia, and northeastern North America.

_Breeding range._--In the Old World the purple sandpiper breeds in the
Arctic regions from Iceland, Norway, and Spitsbergen east to Nova Zembla
and the Taimyr Peninsula. In North America the breeding range extends
north to Franklin (Igloolik); and Greenland (Hare Island, and Shannon
Islands). East to Greenland (Shannon Islands and Ivimiut). South to
Greenland (Ivimiut and Ivigtut); and Franklin (southern Baffin Island,
Cumberland Sound, and Winter Island). West to Franklin (Winter Island
and Igloolik). It has been detected in summer still farther north;
Franklin (Mercy Bay, Fury Point, Boothia Felix, and Possession Bay); and
Greenland (Bowdoin Bay, Thank God Harbor, North Star Bay, and Fort
Conger).

_Winter range._--The purple sandpiper winters farther north than any
other shore bird. North and east to southern Greenland (Ivigtut);
eastern Nova Scotia (St. Peter's Island); Massachusetts (Rockport,
Westport, and Boston); Rhode Island (Cormorant Rock); Connecticut
(Saybrook and Faulkner Island); and rarely New York (Gull Island,
Montauk, and Amityville). South to New York (Amityville). West to New
York (Amityville); Connecticut (New Haven); Maine (Cumberland County,
Matinicus Island, and Washington County); New Brunswick (Grand Manan and
the Bay of Fundy); Prince Edward Island; and southern Greenland
(Ivigtut).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Franklin,
Annanactook, June 4, Winter Island, June 10, Cambridge Bay, June 10, and
Igloolik, June 14; Greenland, about 72° north latitude, May 29; and
Baffin Island, Cape Dorset, May 30.

Late dates of spring departure are: New York, Sag Harbor, April 18, and
Long Beach, May 4, Rhode Island, Sachuest Point, May 15; Massachusetts,
Dennis, May 5; and Quebec, Prince of Wales Sound, May 27, Quatachoo, May
29, and Mingan Islands, May 29.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are Quebec, Bras d'Or,
August 4; New Brunswick, Grand Manan, August 13; Ontario, Toronto,
October 27, Ottawa, October 29, and Hamilton, October 31; Maine, Metinic
Green Island, August 6, Saddleback Ledge, August 19; Massachusetts, Cape
Cod, September 6, Chatham, September 8, and Nahant, October 13; Rhode
Island, Sachuest Point, September 13; and New York, Montauk, November 1,
Orient, November 1, and Long Beach, November 2.

Late dates of fall departure are: Greenland, Possession Bay, September
1, and Thank God Harbor, September 3; Mackenzie, Great Bear Lake,
September 16; and Franklin, Wellington Channel, August 28, Kingwah
Fjord, September 6, Cumberland Gulf, September 13, and Pangnirtung
Fjord, October 21.

_Casual records._--The purple sandpiper has been reported as seen at the
entrance to St. George Harbor, Bermuda, and there are a few records for
the south Atlantic coast and the interior, among which are: New Jersey,
Delaware Bay (specimen in British Museum), Beach Haven, October 31,
1896, and one found dead at the Absecon Lighthouse; Georgia, one in the
Sennett collection taken, March 5, 1874; Florida, Key Biscayne, October
29, 1857, and Gordan's Pass, November 1, 1886; Missouri, Boonville,
between April 16 and May 31, 1854; Illinois, near Chicago, November 7,
1871; Ohio, Sandusky, November 19, 1925, and Painesville, October 22,
1916, and October 24, 1922; and Wisconsin, Door County, May, 1881.

_Egg dates._--Greenland: 18 records, May 16 to June 30; 9 records, June
1 to 19. Iceland: 6 records, May 21 to June 17. Baffin Island; 2
records, July 21 and 28.

ARQUATELLA PTILOCNEMIS PTILOCNEMIS (Coues)

PRIBILOF SANDPIPER

HABITS

As explained under the Aleutian sandpiper, this bird is probably not a
subspecies of the purple sandpiper; so the name _maritima_ can not be
used for either _ptilocnemis_ or _couesi_. I have therefore thought it
best to follow Ridgway (1919) in the use of his names for the Pribilof
and Aleutian sandpipers, rather than use the Check List names.

The Pribilof sandpiper has the most restricted distribution of any North
American sandpiper. In summer it is confined to the chilly and foggy
uplands of the Pribilof Islands, the equally cool, damp lowlands of St.
Matthew Island, Hall Island, and perhaps St. Lawrence Island, all in
Bering Sea. And its known migration range is limited to a few
localities on the mainland of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands, where
it probably winters. It may breed more extensively on St. Lawrence
Island than it is now known to do, but it has not yet been found
breeding anywhere on the mainland. G. Dallas Hanna (1921) says:

     I strongly suspect that the birds have some other extensive
     breeding ground than St. George, St. Paul, and St. Matthew Islands,
     because in September and October large flocks come to the two
     former islands; these appear to contain many more individuals than
     are in existence on all three. Whether St. Lawrence Island supplies
     the extra number or not remains for future determination. The
     winter range of the species is practically unknown, the only
     records being from Portage Bay, southeast Alaska, and Lynn Canal,
     between Alaska and British Columbia. The appearance of the birds at
     the former locality in flocks in spring (if identifications were
     correct) indicates that they wintered farther south, probably on
     Vancouver and other islands of British Columbia. They could hardly
     have come from beyond these localities and have remained
     undiscovered.

_Spring._--The same writer says:

     Spring migration takes place the latter part of April and the first
     half of May. My earliest record for St. Paul Island is April 15
     (1915) when a flock appeared at Northeast Point. The height of
     migration is a little later than that date and may usually be
     expected from the 1st to the 15th of May. Birds are almost
     invariably paired upon arrival. Very few spring flocks have been
     seen on the Pribilofs, and they do not tarry by the beaches, but go
     directly to the upland nesting sites. It seems to be uncommon for
     more than the resident population to land upon an island in spring.
     The birds seem to go directly to the chosen breeding grounds,
     wherever they may be. This fact is of wide application among the
     northern shore birds. Only rare stragglers of such species as
     golden plovers, turnstones, and pectoral and sharp-tailed
     sandpipers stop at the Pribilofs on their way north, but large
     numbers of some of them come in fall.

_Courtship._--Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) writes:

     The male of the pair seen by me on St. Lawrence Island in June kept
     flying up some 10 or 15 yards, its wings beating with a rapid
     vibrating or tremulous motion, while the bird thus poised trilled
     forth a clear, rather musical and liquid but hard, whistling note,
     which is probably the same note which Elliott likens to the trill
     of the tree frog. The short song ended, the musician glides to the
     ground upon stiffened wings and resumes his feeding or stands
     silently for a time on a projecting rock or knoll.

_Nesting._--We found Pribilof sandpipers very common in July on the low
tundra at the south end of St. Matthew Island, where they were evidently
breeding just back of the beaches. They were also common in the interior
at the north end of this island and on the highlands of Hall Island. We
collected a few specimens of the birds, but had no time to hunt for
nests. We are indebted to Mr. Hanna (1921) for his excellent account of
the nesting habits of this bird, from which I quote as follows:

     On St. George Island the high upland tundra has been chosen for
     breeding ground. Here, among the reindeer "mosses" and light gray,
     lichen-covered rocks the sandpipers reign supreme in the fog. Some
     speculating may be indulged in to find a reason for so unusual a
     choice of locality. Elevations up to 500 feet are sought. Perhaps
     they shun the seacoasts on account of the presence there of large
     numbers of foxes. During all history this has been a greater fox
     island than either St. Paul or St. Matthew. On the latter island in
     June and July the birds may be found in large numbers around and
     back of the driftwood piles. If it were not for this fact being
     known, we might suspect that on St. George the light gray tundra
     was selected for protective purposes, the birds themselves being
     distinguished chiefly by their light colors. St. Paul Island, for
     some unaccountable reason, is not chosen as a breeding ground
     except by a very few pairs. In 1919 not over a dozen were found
     during the entire nesting season, when almost all of the available
     areas were seen.

     On the breeding grounds of St. George and St. Matthew the birds
     are very common, and from one to a dozen are in almost constant
     attendance upon the visitor. They sight him from afar and fly to
     meet him. Some bird will almost always try to lead him astray. If
     followed, it flies from knoll to knoll, often not more than 20
     yards away. It remains in front of the visitor regardless of the
     direction he may take; whether toward or from the nest, makes no
     difference. After several minutes of this a sudden flight, with
     the familiar "song," is taken to some distant hill and the
     searcher for a nest is left confused and confounded.

     A search for the nest will exhaust the patience of any except the
     most persistent collector. Messrs. Compton and Partch have been
     more successful than anyone else in locating them, and all of us
     agree that when a bird flies to meet the visitor, as just
     described, it is a pure waste of time to watch or follow it. Every
     method known to us of locating nests by watching the actions of
     the parents has failed. We have located nests and then endeavored
     to establish rules for guidance with others, but no definite facts
     could be determined. It was finally agreed that it was useless to
     watch a bird under any circumstances more than 15 minutes. If the
     location of the nest is not disclosed in that time, it is safe to
     assume that the mate is on it, and it might be hours before the
     guard would go there. In the meantime it may fly half a mile away
     and forget to come back, even to tease the hopeful collector lying
     concealed in the mist and fog behind some cheerless rock. No
     definite range can be ascribed to any one pair of birds, because
     those off the nests mingle indiscriminately. Very often a bird
     will fly completely out of the range of vision in the fog.

     The action of a bird leaving a nest is unmistakable, and can
     always be recognized, once it is learned. It is a quick, excited,
     jerky flight, very close to the ground, and the bird goes but a
     very few yards until it feigns injury in its endeavor to entice
     the intruder away. It will always flutter in front of a person,
     even though he walk directly toward the nest. When the bird is
     seen to fly, the eggs are even more inconspicuous and difficult to
     find unless the exact spot from which it flew be located. Compton
     thus flushed a bird which he knew had a nest, but he was at a loss
     to find it. At last he left his cane as nearly as possible where
     the nest should have been and repaired to a near-by rock to watch
     and wait. In a few minutes the bird returned to the eggs, which
     were located about a yard from the stick. When the bird is flushed
     from a nest it seldom happens that the other parent is near.

     The nest is a mere depression about three and a half inches wide by
     two and a half inches deep. Most of the material is removed, but it
     is evidently packed down to a certain extent. No foreign material
     is carried at all. The nest is usually, but not necessarily, on
     some very slightly elevated ground and among the lichens called
     "reindeer moss." Some nests have been found where there was an
     admixture of _Hypnum_ moss and again where the dwarf willows creep,
     rootlike, beneath the surface.

_Eggs._--I can not do better than to quote again from Mr. Hanna (1921);
he writes:

     The normal set of eggs consists of four. A greater number has never
     been found, and a less number only when it was uncertain if the
     full set had been laid. As much as three days may intervene between
     egg laying, but usually the four are deposited on successive days.
     When one set of eggs is taken, another will be laid. But the same
     nest is not used the second time, the contentions of some natives
     to the contrary notwithstanding. A set of eggs found as late as
     July 24, 1917, certainly indicated that two may be laid in the same
     season on rare occasions. One set is the rule.

     The color of the eggs is, as would be expected, somewhat variable.
     The lightest set examined in connection with this report has the
     ground color "greenish glaucous." From this there is perfect
     gradation through "court gray" and "light olive gray" to "deep
     olive buff" in the darkest set. Variation in any particular set is
     very slight. Spots are large and bold as a rule. They vary in size
     from 15 millimeters to less than one, and they are usually massed
     about the larger end. In one case the eggs are uniformly spotted
     with small spots all over. In none is the spotting heaviest on the
     smaller end (reversed eggs). Spots are usually inclined to be
     round, but occasionally they are in the form of streaks arranged
     roughly in spiral form. Only rarely are they banded about the
     larger end. In two cases a narrow black line was produced spirally
     on the larger end. The coloration of the spots varies from "snuff
     brown" to "sepia" and from "cinnamon brown" to "mummy brown." In
     some cases they are "raw umber." The darkest shades occur where
     the spots overlap and some deep-seated ones are "pale aniline
     lilac" or "pale" to "deep quaker drab." Only rarely is the outline
     of a spot not sharp.

     The average dimensions derived from the above series of 72 eggs
     are: Length, 39.473 and breadth 27.468. Those which showed the
     extreme measurements were =42.0= by 27.8; =35= by 27.4; 37.6 by
     =39=, and 39.1 by =26.4.=

_Young._--The period of incubation is said to be about 20 days, in which
both sexes share. William Palmer (1899) says:

     The young leave the nest soon after hatching and are thoroughly
     well concealed by their mimicry of the confusing mixture of mosses,
     lichens, and other forms of vegetation which abounds and are so
     well intermingled on these islands. It requires much patience and a
     close scrutiny to detect a crouching young, even when it is
     directly within reach. Obedient to their mother's cries they
     flatten themselves with head and neck extended; with each yard of
     the ground precisely similar in pattern and color with every other
     yard, and the parents, especially the female, trying their best to
     coax us in other directions, and the uncertainty as to the exact
     location of the young, all combine against the collector, so that
     few specimens reward a tramp that seems exasperatingly needless.
     The young will not move, though one stands with the foot touching
     them, but when once handled and released they scamper off with all
     the quickness their long legs can give them. When we invade the
     vicinity of a nest or young it is amusing to watch the antics of
     the female. She invariably flies in front and flutters with feigned
     lameness but a few feet away. If the ground is rough it is more
     amusing to watch the precipitancy of her flight until she
     disappears in a hollow, to reappear in a moment on the other side,
     cautiously turning round and eying us to see if we are following.
     She always keeps in front of us, no matter which way we turn, and
     will continue thus for several hundred yards, when she will
     suddenly fly off to some distance and after waiting awhile will
     return to the vicinity of the nest or young.

Mr. Hanna (1921) writes:

     So far as known, the food of both old and young consists of beetles
     and flies while the birds remain on the highlands; when they move
     to the ponds and seashores they eat copepods, amphipods, etc. As
     soon as the young birds are well able to fly they resort to the
     tide pools and small ponds near the sea. Later the older birds join
     them and the flocks increase in size to several hundred in
     favorable places. This takes place in August and September in such
     localities as the Salt Lagoon of St. Paul Island.

_Plumages._--The color pattern of the downy young Pribilof sandpiper is
similar to that of the Aleutian, but the colors are different, much
duller. The bright browns and buffs of the upper parts are replaced by
"burnt umber," "snuff brown," "clay color," and "cinnamon buff," and the
black markings are largely replaced by dark browns; the black patch in
the center of the back is about as in the Aleutian. The under parts are
less pure white, always suffused with pale buff on the throat and flanks
and sometimes largely so on the breast also.

Mr. Palmer's (1899) studies of the molts and plumages indicate that they
are similar to those of the Aleutian sandpiper; he writes:

     The downy young are beautiful little things, silvery white beneath,
     bright, rich ocherous above, variegated with black and dots of
     white. The general color above lacks the grayness of the similar
     age of _maritimus_. The white dots are interesting under the
     microscope. They are composed of a bunch of highly specialized
     down, in which the radii near the tip are crowded and colorless. As
     they grow older the first feathers appear on the sides of the
     breast, on the back and scapulars; then the primaries and larger
     wing coverts appear. The feathering continues until the breast and
     under parts are covered, when the tail appears. At this time there
     are no feathers on the rump or on the head or neck. In the next
     stage feathers have appeared on the occiput and on the auriculars
     and are also extending up the neck. At the same time the tips of
     the back feathers have become somewhat worn, so that the colored
     margins are narrower and the black more prominent. The wing coverts
     are also to some extent worn on their tips. When the bill is an
     inch long the down has nearly all disappeared, and when it has
     entirely gone the birds appear in small flocks on the beaches, the
     young generally keeping together. Then another change takes place,
     for the entire plumage now gives way to another, that in which the
     bird passes the winter. A few late July, immature birds show the
     beginning, for No. 118832, im. [male], July 29, has a few new
     feathers on the middle of the back and on the scapulars. They soon
     extend all over the back, so that specimens collected up to August
     10 have many of the new whitish feathers on that region.

     The contrast is striking between these feathers, the latest being
     of an almost even shade of pale plumbean with darker centers and
     generally with a narrow white margin. There are no specimens to
     show the complete change, but it is probable that these young birds
     remain on the islands until it is completed. By the middle of June
     the adults have fully changed to the breeding plumage, but on some
     specimens a few feathers of the previous winter's plumage persist
     much later. Thus on many specimens some alternate feathers of the
     scapulars and tertials are of the previous winter's well-worn
     plumage. In fact, few specimens are free from these old feathers.
     Soon after the middle of July the new plumage of the next winter
     begins to appear. At first a few feathers show about the breast,
     then on the scapulars, thence up the neck and over the head, so
     that by the 10th of August they have changed one-half. It would
     thus appear that before this species leaves the islands they assume
     entirely their new dress. And at this season, August 10, old and
     young flock together for the first time, and confine themselves to
     the sand beaches and surf margins about the islands for a few
     weeks, when they take flight by the 1st or 5th of September, and
     disappear until the opening of the new season.

The Pribilof sandpiper is much paler in the juvenal plumage and grayer
in the winter plumage than the Aleutian.