268 BULLETIN 142, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



position over the level of the sea and the distance from nearest shore of such 

 locality is, according to my experience, of no consequence. It only seems, as 

 if the sanderling prefers to nest on such places, which are situated not very 

 far from fresh water — a lake or a pond — to the shores of which the young ones 

 are often directed. Some nests found prove, however, that the birds do not 

 insist upon this. 



The situation of the nest is also extremely constant. At the edge — or 

 rarer farther in — of a tuft of Dryas, the bird will form a cup-shaped not very 

 deep nest hollow, the bottom of which is sparsely lined with withered leaves 

 of Salix arctica or other plants growing in the neighbourhood. In size, and 

 partly in shape U.h sanderling's nest resembles that of Tringa alpina. The 

 striking likeness in color to the surroundings and the monotonous character 

 of the landscape makes it extremely difficult to find the nest unless the bird 

 itself shows the way to it. The number of eggs in a clutch is always four. 

 I found eleven nests with eggs and some fifty hatches of downy young ones 

 but none of these differed from the normal number. 



By excellent tactics the breeding female understands to keep secret the 

 hiding place of the nest. She will generally leave the nest so early and 

 secretly, that even the most experienced and attentive eye does not perceive 

 it. She rushes rapidly from the nest with her head pressed down against her 

 back executing some peculiar creeping movements quite mute, and hidden 

 between stones and plants; following natural hollows in the ground she will 

 first appear in a distance of at least 100 meters from the nest. By means of 

 short, snarling, and faint cries and now and then by flying up, she will then 

 try to turn one's attention to herself. She will often settle for some moments 

 on small stones, clods of earth, and similar places, from which she again will 

 rush away with her dorsal feathers erected and her wings hanging down and 

 always in a direction opposite to that in which her nest is situated. 



H. E. Dresser (1904) gives a translation of notes on this species 

 made by Dr. H. Walter in the Taimyr Peninsula, from which I 

 quote as follows: 



The nests, found late in June and early in July, contained four eggs each in 

 three cases and three eggs in one case. The nest was placed, unlike that of 

 the other waders, which affected the grass-covered portions of the tundra, 

 between bare clay lumps on moss, and consisted of a shallow depression lined 

 with a few dry straws and a white tangle. In two cases the male, and in two 

 the female, was incubating. On the 16/29 July, when the young in down were 

 taken, the male showed anxiety, but the female was not seen. During the 

 breeding season some of these birds wandered about in small flocks. This 

 species remained until the end of August. 



Eggs. — The sanderling laj^s four eggs, sometimes only three. The 

 eggs are very rare in collections and few are available for study, 

 but they have been well described and fully illustrated. The eggs 

 taken by Doctor Walter are described by Mr. Dresser (1904) as 

 follows : 



Blunt pyriform, fine grained, with a faint gloss. Ground color pale yellowish 

 white, with a very pale greenish tinge and somewhat marked with small yellow- 

 ish brown and dark brown spots ; a few indistinct light violet gray markings ; 

 at the larger end a few blackish dots and streaks. 



