P3IBIL0F SANDPIPER 159 



Breeding range. — The Pribilof sandpiper breeds on the Pribilof 

 Islands (St. Paul and St. George Islands) and north in Bering Sea 

 to St. Matthew Island, Hall Island, and St. Lawrence Island. 



Winter range. — The winter range is imperfectly known, but it 

 has been taken in this season at Portage Bay, Alaska, and probably 

 occupies much of the Alaskan coast southeastward to (rarely) the 

 Lynn Canal. 



Migration. — They have been noted in spring to arrive at St. Paul 

 Island March 5; Nushagak, Alaska, April 1 to 14; St. George Is- 

 land April 23 ; at St. Paul Island April 24 ; and Point Dall, Alaska, 

 May 23. 



Late departures in the fall have been observed at St. George Island, 

 October 3 ; and St. Paul Island November 16. 



Early fall arrivals have been noted on the Alaskan coast at Igiak 

 Bay, July 23; Tigalda Island, August 5; Unimak, August 14; and 

 Dexter, Norton Sound, August 29. 



Egg dates. — Pribilof Island: 32 records, May 6 to July 2; 16 

 records, May 30 to June 11. 



ARQUATELLA PTILOCNEMIS COUESI (Ridgway) 



ALEUTIAN SANDPIPER 



HABITS 



I prefer the above scientific name to the Check List name, because 

 I can not believe that the Aleutian sandpiper is a subspecies of the 

 purple sandpiper. The Aleutian sandpiper was originally described 

 by Robert Ridgway (1880) as a distinct species. Later it was 

 treated, and still stands on our Check List, as a subspecies of the 

 purple sandpiper, because it somewhat resembles it in its winter 

 plumage. In Mr. Ridgway's (1919) latest work, he treats it as a 

 subspecies of the Pribilof sandpiper, a closely related form, which 

 had been previously described; he there describes it as "similar to 

 A. p. ptilocnenvis but decidedly smaller and much darker in color; 

 the summer plumage with blackish and rusty or cinnamon-rufous 

 predominating on back and scapulars, and all the colors much 

 darker and more extended. Very similar in winter plumage to A. 

 maritima, but summer plumage and young very different, both being 

 conspicuously marked with rusty on back and scapulars, and the 

 summer plumage with breast conspicuously blotched or clouded with 

 dusky." 



Among a series of 11 birds of this species, which we collected on 

 Attn Island, at the extreme western end of the Aleutian Chain, on 

 June 23, 1911, are two birds which closely resemble ptilocnemis in 

 color, but in size are typical of couesi. At least one of them was a 



