18 BULLETIN 142,, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



went ashore into the grasses. The second hen still kept in the neighborhood, 

 though I imagine she must have realized she had lost her chance of a mate. 



P. H. Bahr (1907) throws some light on the peculiar sexual rela- 

 tions of this species ; he says : 



On the 5th of June we watched the phenomena of polygamy, and of at- 

 tempted polyandry in this species. At one end of the loch the former con- 

 dition held sway, two energetic and quarrelsome females having attached 

 themselves to one miserable-looking male, and it was ludicrous to behold the 

 awe in which he held them. Once in particular he nearly swam between my 

 legs in his efforts to avoid their attentions. Till our departure on the 27th, 

 these three birds were constantly to be seen together. At the other end of 

 the loch two males were seen continuously circling round the head of a 

 female. I frequently observed the male performing evolutions, which I have 

 previously described as the " marriage flight." Zigzagging from side to side 

 with amazing rapidity he would hover with dangling legs over the head of 

 the female, who, circling placidly in the water, appeared to take no notice of 

 his attentions. Then settling beside her he would peck and chase her as if 

 endeavoring to make her take to flight. Failing in this he would dash off 

 once more across the marsh uttering a warbling sort of song much like that 

 of the ringed plover. Then he would settle in a reedy spot, such as would 

 be chosen for the nesting site, and would call vigorously, looking always in 

 the direction of the female, as if expecting her to follow. I observed several 

 pairs, behaving in this manner, and such was their fervor that the males con- 

 tinued this performance even in the midst of one of the worst storms we ex- 

 perienced. Often the female would resent these attentions, and a pitched 

 battle would ensue. 



Herbert TV. Brandt (mss.) writes: 



It is very interesting to watch a struggle between two female northern 

 phalaropes over a solitary male. They fight by the hour, not after the man- 

 ner of the males, which rush at each other and boldly lock in a mortal combat, 

 but rather these females fight by flipping their wings and pecking at each 

 other instead of laying hold with determination. This can be likened only to 

 a feminine hair-pulling episode. One day I watched such a combat for an 

 hour, and there were numerous occasions on which I thought that one of the 

 birds would succumb ; but the contest seemed to be very equal, and when a 

 bird recovered from a hard onslaught it would return at once and take up 

 the wing sparring. They would flutter here and there over the ground, first 

 one then the other attacking, closely followed all the time by the shy but 

 neutral male, the prize of the conflict. Natives informed me that they had 

 never known of one's being killed by the other, but that the birds would 

 fight all day long. 



Nesting. — My personal experience with the nesting habits of the 

 northern phalarope has been limited to what few nests we found 

 in the Aleutian Islands in 1911. These birds were very scarce or 

 entirely absent in the eastern half of the chain. "We saw a few on 

 Atka Island where several nests, with fresh eggs or incomplete 

 sets, were found on June 18. On Kiska Island they were really 

 abundant and we found them breeding about the small grassy ponds 

 and wet meadows ; fresh eggs were found on June 21. Their favorite 



