132 



OENITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 13-:N"o. 9 



flavor and causes it to be much desired for the 

 table. It is rarely if ever seen on the beaches 

 or flats, but occasionally goes ou to the dry salt 

 marshes to feed on the crickets and grasshop- 

 pers that are very numerous there in the sum- 

 mer and autumn. They are very wary and as 

 they are in small parties and fly swiftly, a per- 

 son to make a fair bag must be a good sliot and 

 have much experience. 



Buft'-breasted Sandpiper, Tri/iujitrs siiJini_li- 

 collis, (Vieill.) A rare spring and autumn mi- 

 grant. I have never seen this liird in the spring. 

 I have taken two specimens on Monomoy 

 Island, one Sept. 24th, 1885, and the other Aug. 

 30th, 1886. They were both in adult plumage 

 and were shot on a wet salt marsh where they 

 were associating with Pectoral Sandpipers. I 

 am inclined to believe that if a sharp lookout 

 was kept for this bird at the time of the flights 

 of the Pectoral Sandpipers, tliey would be 

 found to be of tolerably common occurrence. 



Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia, (Linn.) 

 Peep, Tip-up, or more commonly Ox Eye on 

 Cape Cod. An abundant summer resident. 

 They arrive in pairs as early as the middle of 

 April and become common by the first or sec- 

 ond week in May, and a few i-emain as late as 

 the second week in October. It is not confined 

 to the sea shore but is quite evenly distributed 

 over most portions of the Cape. Itcouunences 

 to nest about the middle or latter part of May, 

 and young birds full feathered are seen by the 

 2nd of July, in a favorable season. They are 

 usuallj' found about wet meadow land, pond 

 streams and pools, but I have found it nesting 

 in wheat fields at a considerable distance from 

 any water. From fifty to one Imndjed pair 

 breed on Monomoy Island each season. Their 

 nests are usually i)laced in the beach grass near 

 tlie beach and occasionally on a bunch of dry 

 sea weed above high water nuirk on the sandy 

 beach, and is loosely constructed of dry sea- 

 weed and grass. It is often a mere depression 

 in the sand. There are few observers of bird 

 life in New England who are not familiar with 

 the "peet-weef" Tiotes of this little wader, and 

 its cui'ious habits of tipiiing its body and tail up 

 and down whicli has given it the ai)pellati(in of 

 "Tip-up," by which it is best known. The 

 young birds are al)l(' to run about as soon as 

 they are hatched, and if pursued will often try 

 to escape by taking to the water, and I have 

 seen them swim a short distance under the 

 water near the shore where it was shallow, 

 their feet touching the bottom and using tlieir 

 wings as well as their feet to help along their 

 progress through the water. 



(To be continued.) 



Nesting of the Ruddy Duck. 



BY WM. G. SMITH, LUVELAND, CDLOUADO. 



Although the Ituddy Duck (Erismatura 

 ruhida) is quite common here during the breed- 

 ing season, but very few of them undertake the 

 burden and responsibility of houselieeping, as 

 they prefer to drop their eggs on a nmskrat 

 mound, or in the water when they cannot entice 

 one of the few good Iiousevvives of their own 

 variety from home long enough to leave them a 

 legacy in the shape of an egg. 



I once found a nest with three eggs svhich on 

 the second morning contained eight, (of course 

 tliey were all one set!) 



The Kuddy Duck commences to layabout the 

 midille of .June, and I have found young birds 

 unable to fly on the sixteenth of October. 



Unlike other ducks the Kuddy builds a very 

 neat compact nest, exactly like the I'edwing- 

 Blackbird, in composition and structure, but 

 always pulls the tops of the flags together to 

 form a roof. I suppose that is done to make a 

 shade against the liot sun, or to conceal them. 

 It piles up a lot of roots ou one side of the nest 

 for a runway and is generally i)laeed where the 

 water is at least a foot deep. It is about six 

 inches in diameter inside, and as the usual 

 number of eggs is nine they are piled on top of 

 each other. Although one of the smallest of 

 our ducks, the eggs are larger than those of the 

 Mallard or the Great Blue Heron, measuring 

 about 24 X 1^ inches. Six which I found weigh- 

 ed as much as a fresh killed specimen that was 

 in good condition. They are creamy white, 

 very liardslielled, and quite rough. The young 

 leave the nest as soon as hatched, then catch 

 them if you can. 



We Think the Same. 



EniToK O. AND O. : 



I notice in an advertisement of a dealer in 

 natural history goods the following quotation, 

 purporting to be from President Ballard in his 

 Agassiz Association Handbook: "His speci- 

 mens are the very best, and his prices will be 

 found to be nuich lower than those of any other 

 reliable dealer."' 



If the quotation is correct then President Bal- 

 lard has done an injustice to other dealers, and 

 misleads those who look to him for advice. 



A Dkaler. 



