PKIBILOF SANDPIPER 153 



range is limited to a few localities on the mainland of Alaska and in 

 the Aleutian Islands, where it probably winters. It may breed more 

 extensively on St. Lawrence Island than it is now known to do, but 

 it has not yet been found breeding anywhere on the mainland. 

 G. Dallas Hanna (1921) says: 



I strongly suspect that the birds have some other extensive breeding ground 

 than St. George, St. Paul, and St. Matthew Islands, because in September and 

 October large flocks come to the two former islands ; these appear to contain 

 many more individuals than are in existence on all three. Whether St. 

 Lawrence Island supplies the extra number or not remains for future deter- 

 mination. The winter range of' the species is practically unknown, the only 

 records being from Portage Bay, southeast Alaska, and Lynn Canal, between 

 Alaska and British Columbia. The appearance of the birds at the former 

 locality in flocks in spring (if identifications were correct) indicates that they 

 wintered farther south, probably on Vancouver and other islands of British 

 Columbia. They could hardly have come from beyond these localities and have 

 remained undiscovered. 



Spring. — The same w r riter says: 



Spring migration takes place the latter part of April and the first half of 

 May. My earliest record for St. Paul Island is April 15 (1915) when a flock 

 appeared at Northeast Point. The height of migration is a little later than that 

 date and may usually be expected from the 1st to the 15th of May. Birds are 

 almost invariably paired upon arrival. Very few spring flocks have been seen 

 on the Pribilofs, and they do not tarry by the beaches, but go directly to the 

 upland nesting sites. It seems to be uncommon for more than the resident 

 population to land upon an island in spring. The birds seem to go directly to 

 the chosen breeding grounds, wherever they may be. This fact is of wide 

 application among the northern shore birds. Only rare stragglers of such 

 species as golden plovers, turnstones, and pectoral and sharp-tailed sandpipers 

 stop at the Pribilofs on their way north, but large numbers of some of them 

 come in fall. 



Courtship. — Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) writes: 



The male of the pair seen by me on St. Lawrence Island in June kept flying 

 up some 10 or 15 yards, its wings beating with a rapid vibrating or tremulous 

 motion, while the bird thus poised trilled forth a clear, rather musical and 

 liquid but hard, whistling note, which is probably the same note which Elliott 

 likens to the trill of the tree frog. The short song ended, the musician glides 

 to the ground upon stiffened wings and resumes his feeding or stands silently 

 for a time on a projecting rock or knoll. 



Nesting. — We found Pribilof sandpipers very common in July on 

 the low tundra at the south end of St. Matthew Island, where they 

 were evidently breeding just back of the beaches. They were also 

 common in the interior at the north end of this island and on the 

 highlands of Hall Island. We collected a few specimens of the birds, 

 but had no time to hunt for nests. We are indebted to Mr. Hanna 

 (1921) for his excellent account of the nesting habits of this bird, 

 from which I quote as follows: 



