1 904 I Discovery OF THE EGGS OF SOLITARY SANDPIPER. 137 



This time the eg-g"s were found in a cedar waxwing's nest in a 

 spruce tree out in a swamp or musl^eg." 



The following is a description of these nests of solitary sand- 

 piper eggs. 



Set I. — Taken in northern Alberta, fune i(')th, 1903. 4 eggs 

 advanced in incubation, collector, Evan Thomson. This set was 

 found in an old nest of the American robin, built 15 feet up in a 

 tamarac tree, that was growing in the middle of a large muskeg, 

 dotted with tamaracs, the bird was flushed off the nest but unfor- 

 tunately not secured. The eggs are exceedingly handsome and 

 very different from the eggs of any other American sandpiper. The 

 ground color is pale greenish white, heavily blotched and spotted, 

 chiefly at the larger ends with vandyke brown, chestnut brown and 

 purplish grey, the average size of these 4 eggs is 1.36 x 98, and 

 they are very large for the size of the bird. 



Set II. — Northern Alberta, June 9th, 1904. 4 eggs found in 

 the nest of a bronzed grackle, built in a low tree ; these eggs were 

 unfortunately lost owing to Mr. Thompson first blowing them and 

 then leaving the shells in the nest until he returned with his gun 

 to secure the parent bird, but on his return on the following day, 

 no trace of the eggs were to be found, the bird evidently had 

 carried them away. 



Set III. — Northern Alberta, June 24th, 1904. 4 eggs found 

 in the nest of a cedar waxwing, which was buiU in a small spruce 

 tree growing in a swamp, the nest being about 5 feet from the 

 water, and Mr. Thompson was fortunate in shooting the parent 

 bird as she flew from the nest, and thus identification is very com- 

 plete and established the fact once for all, that the solitary sand- 

 piper does not lay its eggs in a nest on the ground like other 

 sandpipers, but takes possession of the nest of other birds, built in 

 trees, just the same as its old world representative the green 

 sandpiper is known to do. 



The ground color of this clutch is also pale greenish white 

 and the eggs are spotted with purpled brown, vandyke brown and 

 purplish grey, and average in size, 1.36 x 99, thus it will be seen 

 they average larger than eggs of the spotted sandpiper which 

 measure about 1.34 x 90. Both clutches with the skin of the 

 parent solitary sandpiper together with the nests are now in my 



