BIEDS. 123 



It is a very handsome bird iu full spriug dress, and with its mottled black and white back aud 

 glossy black under surface presents a striking appearance while standing by the border of snow- 

 drifts or on the banks of ice-covered rivers. From Saint Michaels north it appears to occur 

 rarely. It is found also on the Asiatic shore at Plover Bay, but it has not been recorded from 

 any of the islands in Bering Sea, although it undoubtedly occurs upon nearly, if not all, of these 

 at times during the migrations. At Point Barrow it is a rare visitant, according to Murdoch, 

 and on the Commander Islands was noted only as a fall migrant. It returns to Saint Michaels 

 the last of August in straggling parties, and stray individuals linger until the last of September, 

 feeding along bare tide flats and the borders of brackish pools and streams, where various indi- 

 viduals of its kind may be found feeding in amiable companionship. The first frosts send them 

 off to the south, though, arriving early in spring, they are often forced to endure cold storms and 

 harsh weather. This is one of the peculiarities noted iu the arrival of birds iu the north during 

 spring, that their eagerness to reach their nesting ground after they once start causes them to 

 brave temperatures and cheerless surroundings which are much more severe and inhospitable tlian 

 any which they endure in fall or while at the south. 



The female iu her full spriug dress is distinguishable from the male by the mixture of white 

 feathers in the black or lower surfixce. High plumaged males have the head nearly white. The 

 spring dress is changed for that of fall and winter the last of July, at which time the young are 

 on the wing and the birds begin the wandering life common to so many waders after the clo?e of 

 the breeding season. 



As in more southern lands, it is not uncommon to see one of these birds, a giant among pig- 

 mies, leading a party of small Sandpipers, including two or three species. 



Although this fine bird nests sparingly at the Yukon mouth, I did not find it in the neigh- 

 borhood of Saint Michaels iu the breeding .season, and so had no opportunity for observing its 

 habits at this time. Eichardson states that in the British fur countries its " eggs are oil green, 

 spotted irregularly with diflerent shades of umber brown." The birds are said to be found in sim- 

 ilar localities, but are much less common than the Golden Plover. 



Cjiakadrius DOMiNicrs Miill. American Golden Plover (Esk. Til-diel-). 



About the middle of May this beautiful Plover reaches the vicinity of Saint Michaels. The 

 earliest record I have, for the Territory, is May 13, specimens in my possession having been 

 secured at Fort Eeliance on the Upper Yukon at this date. As the breeding season approaches, 

 it is found as one of the commonest breeding waders over the grass and moss grown country ex- 

 tending along the shore of Bering Sea. In some cases they have deposited their eggs by the 1st 

 of June. 



It is a widely-spread species over the eastern coast of Bering Sea and the Arctic, but is not 

 very numerous on the islands of this sea. It is an abundant summer resident at Point Barrow, 

 according to Murdoch. They arrive the last of May and leave the last of August. Dall secured 

 specimens, June 22, on the Shumagin Islands, and this is the only instance iu which the bird has 

 been taken on the Aleutian chain. Elliott obtained specimens of the Asiatic coast species on the 

 Fur Seal Islands, as will be mentioned later. It arrives along the shore of Xorton Sound,*the last 

 of May, in small flocks rarely exceeding thirty or forty birds. They are in full breeding dress, and 

 are a beautiful sight as they glide about on easy wing, or feed over the marshy flats. Their soft, 

 clear call-note gives evidence of the rich song to be heard later. They soon pair and disperse, so 

 that within a few days after the main arrival their nests may be looked for. Their nests are gen- 

 erally in small depressions which may be found among the moss and dried grass of a small knoll, 

 and at times a slight structure is made of dried grass. The grass, and, perhaps, a few dead leaves 

 of the dwarf willow are arranged in a circular, saucer-shaped form, about 4 or 5 inches across, 

 and contain four eggs, which have a pale yellowish ground-color with very darij, welldeflued 

 umber-brown spots scattered rather profusely over the shell, especially about the larger end. One 

 set of eggs measures 1.98 by 1.35; 2.09 by 1.30; 2 by 1..30; 2.08 by 1.33. This set of eggs was 

 obtained at Stnart Island in June. Three odd specimens measure respectively 1.90 by 1.25; 1.92 



