SANDERLING 269 



In the colored illustrations of 10 eggs before me, the shapes vary 

 from ovate pyriform, the prevailing shape, to subpyriform. The pre- 

 vailing ground colors are greenish olive, "ecru-olive," "lime green," 

 or " grape green " ; a few eggs are more buffy, " cream buff " to " deep 

 olive buff." The markings are small, and often inconspicuous, spots, 

 scattered quite evenly over the entire surface, but sometimes more 

 thickly about the larger end. These are in dull shades of brown, 

 " buffy brown," " snuff brown," or " sepia." They are not handsome 

 or showy eggs. The measurements of 41 eggs, furnished by Rev. 

 F. C. R. Jourdain, average 35.7 by 21.7 millimeters ; the eggs showing 

 the four extremes measure 38.2 by 24.7, 34.1 by 26.1, 33.1 by 24.4 and 

 35.3 by 23.5 millimeters. 



Young. — Authorities seem to differ as to whether both sexes incu- 

 bate or not. Both Feilden and, Walter secured incubating males, 

 but Manniche (1910) says: 



Till the laying is finished both birds will faithfully accompany each other, 

 but as soon as the brooding begins, the males will join in smaller flocks and 

 wander around on the table lands and at the beaches of the fresh waters, 

 often in company with Tringa, canutus and Strepsilas intcrpres. They usually 

 left the country some days before the middle of July. I secured several males 

 for examination but never found the least sign of a breeding spot 



He gives the period of incubation as 23 to 24 days and says of the 

 young: 



The bursting of the egg shells will generally begin already some three days 

 before the emergence of the young. The mother bird will immediately care- 

 fully carry the shells away from the nest in order not to attract the attention 

 of ravens and skuas. Between the emergence of the young will elapse not 

 more than a few hours ; as soon as the latest born young one feels sufficiently 

 strong ; that is. when the down is dry, all the nestlings will leave the nest at the 

 same time. If the old female considers the nearest surroundings of the nest 

 to be unsafe or too difficult in food for the brood, she will immediately lead 

 the young away. Thus I have met with newly hatched young ones, hardly one 

 hour after their departure from the nest in a distance of 50O to 600 meters 

 from this. In the cases, concerned the disturbance by my frequent visits to 

 the nests during the breeding may have caused the early departure. 



In the following 12 to 14 days the chicks are guarded by their careful and 

 extremely vigilant mother, who leads them over stony plains, by oveiflows of 

 melted snow and fresh-water beaches; they are eagerly occupied in seeking 

 food, which at this period exclusively consists of small insects and larvae 

 and pupae of these. I have often observed that the chicks take shelter under 

 the wings of their mother from the cold nights and the heavy showers. The 

 chicks' power of resistance against cold and severe weather is relatively small. 



When the sanderling wants to protect her young ones against hostile 

 attacks she executes still more surprising systematic tactics than she does 

 when brooding. Already when at a distance of some 200 to 300 meters from 

 the young ones the old female would rush toward me and by all kinds of flapping 

 and creeping movements in an opposite direction try to lead me astray; all the 

 while she would squeak like a young one, and now growl angrily, striving to 

 draw my attention toward herself only. Now and then she would rise very high 



