1904] Discovery OF THE EGGS OF SOLITARY SANDPIPER. 135 



DISCOVERY OF THE EGGS OF SOLITARY SANDPIPER. 



By Walter Raine, Toronto. 



At last the long-sought for eggs of the solitary sandpiper have 

 been found and it affords me much pleasure to be the first ornitho- 

 logist to have the opportunity of recording its nesting habits, 

 which are unique amongst North American birds, for I have 

 positive proof that this species lays its eggs in the nests of other 

 birds : this being one of the most important discoveries in recent 

 years in regard to the nidification of any American bird. 



In " Nests and Eggs of British Birds Non-Indigenous," Mr. 

 Chas. Dixon says of this species : — 



" Incredible as it may seem the nest and eggs still remain un- 

 known to science, for it is impossible to accept the description of 

 the latter given by the late Dr. Brewer without authentication. 

 There can be little doubt that this species lays its eggs in the dis- 

 carded nests of other birds in low trees like its old world repre- 

 sentative the green sandpiper is known to :lo, search should be 

 made in such places in the summer haunts of the species." 



I am aware that other ornithologists have previously recorded 

 what were supposed to be eggs of the solitary sandpiper, but most 

 of these records were simply conjecture and very unsatisfactory. 

 The egg recorded by Dr. Brewer, accordmg to the description that 

 he gives, was doubtless that of the piping plover, the nest being 

 found on the ground, and it will now be seen the solitary sand- 

 piper does not make its nest on the ground. 



Another supposed nest of this species was recorded by Dr. 

 Clark of Kingston, Ont., in "The Auk" for Oct., 1898. This 

 same nest was also recorded in The Ottawa Naturalist for 

 December, 1899, by the Rev. J.C. Young, but this nest was found 

 on the ground and the parent wa-; not secured. Mr. C. A. Reed 

 in his work " North American Birds Eggs," figures one of these 

 eggs found by Dr. Clark and it resembles a variety of the spotted 

 sandpiper. The eggs of the solitary sandpiper are larger and more 

 pear shaped than any spotted sandpiper egg I have seen, and the 

 texture of the shell is very different to that of the spotted sand- 

 piper, being a fine grain and polished ; then the ground color is 

 pale greenish white, a tint never seen in a spotted sandpiper egg. 



