DUNLIN. 383 



by Swinhoe as a winter visitor to the shores of China and 

 Formosa. 



The Dunlin is believed to breed in Greenland, and it 

 certainly does so on Melville Peninsula, at Felix Harbour, 

 and along the Arctic coast of America to the mouth of the 

 Yukon. On the Pacific side it goes down to British Colum- 

 bia, and as far as Stockton, California ; and on the Atlantic 

 coast it ranges from the Arctic regions to the Southern 

 United States. Dr, Gundlach found it in Cuba, and it 

 probably visits some other islands of the West Indies, 

 south of which its range does not seem to be authenti- 

 cated. 



The nest of the Dunlin is composed of fibrous roots and 

 pieces of grass, and is frequently so well concealed in a 

 depression among the grass, moss, or short heather, that, 

 unless the bird is flushed from it, the site is very difficult to 

 find. The eggs, four in number, are pear-shaped, like 

 those of other birds of this genus, of a greenish-white 

 blotched and spotted with two shades of dark red-brown : 

 they measure 1"35 by '95 in. The young can run and con- 

 ceal themselves immediately on quitting the shell. During 

 the pairing-season the birds soar to a moderate height, 

 uttering a somewhat monotonous and prolonged dwce ; but 

 the usual call at other times is a clear whistling trid, or 

 2)6, 2>c, pe. The food of the Dunlin consists of small crus- 

 taceans, marine insects, and worms. 



Mr. E. Warren relates (Pr. Nat. Hist. Soc. Dublin iii, p. 

 117) an instance of finding one of these birds caught in a 

 most remarkable trap. His attention was first drawn to it by 

 seeing it repeatedly rise a short distance into the air, and 

 on alighting violently shaking its head, apparently striving 

 to detach a round lump from off the end of its bill. The 

 bird appeared very much exhausted ; and on approaching 

 closer to ascertain the cause of its strange manoeuvres, he 

 discovered that a cockle, of tbe size of a hazel-nut, was 

 firmly fixed to its bill, and the most violent eftorts of the 

 poor bird failed to get rid of it, at least while he was observ- 

 ing it. It is very probable that the Dunlin discovered the 



