distance ul half a iiiilc. Il was aboiil llic iniiMlc ul June-, rather a late date for 

 finding eggs of either riialarojH.' or sandpiper, and after an extensive search we 

 abandoned the place, baflled in our atteiu])ts to discover either nest or ycnuig. 



Svveral years later, while in North Dakota. I formed a more extensive ac- 

 cjuaintance with Wilson's I'halarope. an<l ha<l the pleasure of meeting not only the 

 male, hut his better half. Contrary to the laws of Nature in general regarding 

 other families of the feathered congregation, the l'halar(jpes possess peculiar 

 characteristics decidedly their own. The female is superior in size and more bril- 

 liantly colored than her mate. She also shirks the domestic tasks so far as her 

 sex i)ermits, and the household responsibilities are assumed by the male. Mrs. 

 IMialarope does the courting, displaying her plumage to the best advantage before 

 the shy and indifferent male, who Hies from pond to pond. .She f(jllows per- 

 sistcntlv and endeavors by a scries of bows and gesticulations to win his favor. 

 The male hollows out a small place in a mossy bog or damp meadow, sufficient 

 to hold four eggs, which are ashy yellow in color and densely marked and streaked 

 with rich brown and black. The eggs average one and twenty-eight-hundrcdths 

 inches in length by ninety-four-hundredths of an inch in width, and are usually 

 very pointed. Some nests are .scantily lined with grass blades or stems, but, 

 judging from their usual appearance and the exposed situation in which the 

 eggs arc often found. I doubt if the male exerts himself when constructing their 

 domicile. Nevertheless he sits patiently upon the eggs until three weeks have 

 elapsed, when the voung leave the shell to follow their father about in search of 

 food. 



The little fellows are chestnut-brown, streaked with a darker shade. 



In the meantime the females have congregated in small groups and may be 

 seen running about the water margin or swimming buoyantly upon the tranquil 

 surface of pond or lagoon. These birds excel other waders in swimming, because 

 their toes are scalloped, or semipalmated. and well adapted for such purposes. 



Twenty years ago Illinois was a favorite summer home for the Wilson Pha- 

 larope. but they are becoming scarce, and from what I can learn, the bird is now 

 regarded as a rare breeder east of the Mississippi River, except perhaps in Wis- 

 consin, where thcv still gather during June to rear their young around the bor- 

 ders of isolated lakes. 



923 



