22 



THE OOLOGIST. 



cult to study by reason of their ever- 

 varying plumage, as well as by reason 

 of the fact that these birds frequent the 

 seashore and the beaches of the inland 

 lakes at those seasons of the year when 

 man deserts these places. 

 tjThe writer merely wishes to mention 

 a few species which have baen taken 

 along the beach of Lake Ontario in this 

 county, the past autumn— not by him- 

 self, however, but by Mr. Percy Smith 

 ■of this place, to whom all the credit is 

 •due. Mr. Smith did the gunning, and I 

 ■with his consent, do the recording of 

 his achievements. 



On September 9, 1897, along the bank 

 of Lake Ontario, in the town of Carlton 

 Mr. Smith secured a young male of the 

 Semipalmated Sandpiper, a young 

 male Semipalmatad Plover, a young 

 female Black-billed Plover, and a 

 young male Knot ( Tringa j canutus). 

 The last mentioned bird is of rare 

 enough occurrence in these parts to 

 warrant more than passing notice. 

 The Knot breeds in the Arctic Regions, 

 and winters south from Florida, follow- 

 ing very closely the Atlantic seaboard 

 in the course of its migrations. Occas- 

 ionally, although not often, in may oc- 

 cur on the larger inland lakes during 

 migration. Two or three specimens 

 have been taken at different times on 

 the Lake Erie coast in the vicinity of 

 Buffalo. The specimen taken by Mr. 

 Smith on September 9th is the first ona 

 ever secured in this- county so far as I 

 know. The Knot is the largest of the 

 Sandpipers. This specimen measured 

 as follows: Length, 10; extent, 20.50; 

 wing, 6.25; tail, 2.50; bill, 1 3-16; tarsus, 

 1 1-16; middle toe, 1 316; middle claw, 

 3-16; head, 1 3-16. 



It was in company with a young fe- 

 male Black-bellied Plover, when shot. 

 The weather at the time was pleasant 

 and had been for some time. 



Again on October 16, 1897, Mr. Smith 

 spent another day at the lake, visiting 

 the same locality. The day was not 



pleasant, but presaged an approaching 

 storm of wind and rain. Various flocks 

 of different kinds of Sandpipers were 

 tlying from the beach out over the wat- 

 er, and continually returning again. 



Four different species were secured 

 by him. These were the Sanderling 

 (Calidris arenaria), a young male, the 

 Pectoral Sandpiper ( Iringa maculata) 

 male, the Ked-backed Sandpiper or 

 American Dunlin [Tringa alpiiia jiacif- 

 ica), two specimens shot, both female 

 young of the year, and the White-rump- 

 ed Sandpiper(rrm5ra fuscicoUis),a, male. 

 The writer does not consider any of 

 these four. Sandpipers as vei'y common 

 migrants here. The Sanderling is un- 

 doubtedly more common than the oth- 

 ers. The White rumped Sandpiper is 

 very rare here, even more so than the 

 Knot, leastwise fewer jof them seem to 

 have been taken in this section, for I 

 fail to find any published record of this 

 bird having been taken before in West- 

 ern New York, although" Mcllwraith 

 mentions it in his "Birds of Ontario.'' 

 A description of this rare Sandpiper as 

 taken by Mr. Smith, may be of interest 

 in this connection: 



"Sex, male; length, 7|; extent, 5i; 

 head, 1: tail, 2; wing, 4 15-16; bill, 1 ; 

 tai'sus, 1; middle toe and claw, about 

 i; hind toe short and slight, about i; 

 tibia', bare, about ^. Bill, black, mod- 

 erately slender, fiattened at tip. Feet 

 black. Toes, slender, not webbee. 

 Top of head finely mottled with dark 

 and reddish-brown and white. Back, 

 dark brown, most feathers narrowly 

 edged with reddish-brown. Wings, 

 brown. Narrow, longitudinal white 

 band formed by tips of greater coverts. 

 Smaller feathers of wing either tipped 

 with reddish-brown or white. First 

 primary, longest. Tail-coverts, white. 

 Tail, brown, with narrow white edges. 

 Breast and sides of neck narrowly 

 edged wtth fine brown marks on dirty 

 white ground. Chin, white; and belly 



