114 ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS. 



The -'Lnjdiiiij KuliU," or Beach-Snipe, as it is called by the natives, is 

 one of the few residents of the Coraniauder Islands, which is found there 

 during both sninmer and winter, and is the only member of the order 

 (jralkc wintering on the rongh shores of these storm beaten regions. 

 During the whole winter small flocks, consisting of ten to thirty individ- 

 uals, are to be seen at low water eagerly picking up Gammarids among 

 the stones close to the breakers. I u March their ranks are re-enforced by 

 new comers which have wintered on more hospitable shores, and in thS 

 hitter part of the month enormous flocks of five hundred or more swarm 

 along the beach, especially on the north shore. About one month later 

 the great flocks dissolve into small companies, which, following the 

 water courses, disperse over the whole island, settling' in pairs on suit- 

 able places at the beaches, on the tundras, or on the mountain plateaus, 

 this biid being in fact one of the most numerous and the most equally 

 distributed species of land birds on the islands. About this time, that 

 is to say, about the middle of April, the brightly-colored suDimer 

 l)lumage is assumed, and now commences that poetic time which makes 

 even the dull shore bird sing as spiritedly as any of the true singing 

 birds, Oscines, and sweeter than many of them. It was in the late 

 afternoon of the 28th of April, 1883, that I first witnessed this sing- 

 ing performance of the Sandpiper. The bird rose from the Bhododen- 

 ebon tundra on the northern slope of Kameunij Valley, and while flying 

 about on quivering wings, sometimes remaining quite still in the air, 

 it uttered a loud, agreeable, and melodious twitter, which really must 

 be called a "song," whereupon, with outstretched wings, it descended 

 obliquely, seating itself upon the top of a tussock. Sitting there, with 

 pufl'ed plumage and pendant wings, it produced a loud "bleating," so 

 much like that of Gallinago gallinago as to completely convince me that 

 the analogous note of the latter is produced by the throat in exactly the 

 same manner. During the "bleating" the whole bird was quivering 

 with a tremulous motion as if in a high state of excitement. The voice 

 was slightly more melodious than that of the snipe, but I was not fully 

 convinced of the identity of the bird until it was lying bleeding among 

 the Rhododendrons before me. It was a male, No. 2004 of my collection. 



The first eggs are laid about the middle of May. On the 17th of June 

 I got a newly-hatched chick. Like so many other members of the same 

 order, the mother shows great love for her oflspring, trying all sorts of 

 devices to divert the attention of the approaching hunter from the 

 young ones to herself, risking hev owu life in or(]er to save theirs, Onco 



