672 THE WESTERN WILLET. 



of this spt'cies were i.mly l)e,i;inniiig lo emerge in llie consciousness of the 

 student. I once came upon a Solitary Sandpiper feeding at tlie eilge nf a 

 brick-yard pond, in ctMiipany with a single Spotted and an ecpiallv solitar\' 

 Pectoral Sandpiper. There were no other shore birds of any species within 

 a mile: l:>ut tliese three were not above five feel a])art. haxing been led into 

 a momentary association thru some subtle sense of kinship and recognition 

 of common ends. When the observer had conned well the lesson of com- 

 parative limicology there aiiforded, he put the birds to flight. They lied three 

 ways with characteristic cries and never an afterthought, aiiparentlv, for their 

 chance accjuaintances. 



"If one ha|.)])ens upon half a dijzen of these birds feeding beside a 

 leaf-lined pool in the de]iths of the woods, he ma\' not only see a beauti- 

 ful sight, but one out ni tlie ni'dinary in Sandpiper experiences. The 

 iiirds dart about rapidly. ca]itiu'ing not only slugs, worms, and small crust- 

 aceans, but insects as well. Indeed, the wings at times are carried about 

 half-raised, as tho the bird were on the very point of flight; and quick 

 sallies are made at passing moths and beetles. If a decaying log lies half 

 submerged it is siu'e to be inspected from e\-ery jioint of wantage: and 

 the bird is not averse to alighting, on occasion, upon the liml) i>f a convenient 

 tree. Again the bird plashes about freely upon the floating vegetation, or 

 wades breast dec]i. taking care, howe\-er, that its daint\- white bodice shall 

 not be soiled. At other times, perhaps, it moves with the sedateness of a 

 heron, putting each foot dciwn carefully so as not to roil the water" (The 

 Birds of Ohio). 



Dr. Sucklev said, "The Solit.ir}- Sandpi])er is not rare about Pugel 

 Sound," but his experience seems to have contradicted that of every recent 

 obserx-er. The name does not ap])ear upon an\- local list since ]iublished, 

 and I ha\e m\'self seen the bird onl\' once, at r.laine, in the summer of igoo. 



No. 272. 



WESTERN WILLET. 



A. O. U. No. 258a. Catoptrophorus semipalmatiis inornatus (Rrewst.l. 



Synon\-ms. — SEMIP.^LMATEL:l Tattler. Stone Curlew. 



Description. — Adult in summer: Above brownish gray, the head and neck 

 streaked with dusky, the feathers of back, etc.. with irregular bars, or central 

 patches, of dusky, and further varied with some obscure buff; primaries and sec- 

 ondaries white, the former broadly tipped and the latter slightly tinged with 

 dusky: upper tail-coverts wliite, or with a few dusky bars: central tail-feathers 

 ashy gray, sometimes faintly barred with Idackish : the remaining feathers white 

 mottled with ashv : underparts chieflv whitish, clearest on belly, tinged with huffy 



