WILSON PHALAROPE 31 



The movements of the birds usually render it an easy matter to decide whether 

 or not they have nests in the immediate vicinity. After the first alarm, those 

 having nests at a distance disperse, while the others take their course in the 

 form of an ellipse, sometimes several hundred yards in length, with the object 

 of their suspicion in the center; and, with long strokes of their wings, 

 much like the flight of a killdeer, they move back and forth. As their nests are 

 approached the length of their flight is gradually lessened, until at last they 

 are joined by the males, when the whole party hover low over the intruder's 

 head, uttering their peculiar note of alarm. At this time they have an ingenious 

 mode of misleading the novice, by flying off to a short distance and hovering 

 anxiously over a particular spot in the marsh, as though there were concealed 

 the objects of their solicitation. Should they be followed, however, and a 

 search be there made, the maneuver is repeated in another place still farther 

 from the real location of the nest. But should this ruse prove unavailing, 

 they return and seem to become fairly desperate, flying about one's head almost 

 within reach, manifesting great distress. 



Aretas A. Saunders writes to me that, in Teton County, Mont., 

 they nest in small colonies in grassy marshes, where alkaline soil 

 prevents the grass, mainly species of Garex and J uncus, from 

 growing tall. 



Eggs. — The Wilson phalarope almost invariably lays four eggs, 

 rarely only three. The shapes vary from ovate pyriform to ovate 

 and there is a slight gloss. The ground colors vary from " cartridge 

 buff " to " cream buff," rarely " chamois." The ground color is gen- 

 erally well concealed by numerous markings, more or less evenly 

 distributed. Some eggs are uniformly covered with small spots and 

 dots, but more often these are mixed with a few larger, irregular 

 blotches. An occasional handsome set is boldly and very heavily 

 blotched, sometimes almost concealing the ground color. The mark- 

 ings are usually in very dark, brownish black or blackish brown. In 

 some handsome sets these dark markings are mixed with " bay " and 

 " auburn " markings. The measurements of 57 eggs average 33 by 

 23.-1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 36.2 

 by 23.7, 33 by 25.1, 30 by 22.5 and 30.5 by 22 millimeters. 



Young. — The period of incubation does not seem to be known. I 

 can find no evidence that the female ever takes any part in it, but 

 that she does not lose interest in her family is plainly shown by her 

 demonstrations of anxiety when the nest is approached; probably 

 she feels responsible for the faithful performance of his duties by 

 her demure spouse. The male broods over the newly hatched young, 

 protecting them from rain, or excessive heat or cold. But they are 

 soon able to run about in a lively manner and care for themselves. 

 Doctor Nelson (1877) writes that "the young have a fine, wiry peep, 

 inaudible beyond a few feet." I believe that the young remain in 

 the grassy meadows, where they can hide in safety, and do not take 

 to the water until they are fully fledged. 



