336 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



of a body of water or removed a considerable distance from it. W. P. 

 Taylor and Ray have found the nests only in damp situations. The 

 first nests and sets of eggs are sometimes destroyed through inunda- 

 tion. This has the effect of extending the breeding season. The nest 

 itself is a simple affair consisting of dried grasses or sedges loosely 

 put together into a small circular and flattened mass Avith a slight 

 depression in the center. Again there may be no foundation but 

 merely a slight depression in the ground with a sparse lining of grass. 

 W. P. Taylor (1912, loc. cit) describes a typical nest as measuring 

 in surface dimensions about 2.25 by 3 inches and being about 0.75 

 inches in depth of material at the center where the eggs rested. 



The eggs of the Wilson Phalarope average 1.28 by 0.93 inches and 

 are of the usual pear-shape. The ground-color is light buff to very 

 light drab, often varying considerably within a single set. The super- 

 ficial markings are dark brown or brownish black and consist of 

 spots of various sizes, the largest rarely over a fourth of an inch in 

 diameter. The larger spots are more abundant about the larger end 

 of the egg while the smaller ones are sprinkled abundantly over the 

 whole surface. The deep markings are pale olive or light brown. The 

 excessive sprinkling of small spots results in a conspicuously dark 

 general tone of color, and this, in conjunction with size, is usually 

 sufficient to distinguish the eggs of this species from those of any 

 other wader nesting in California. 



The following account of breeding habits as observed in northern 

 Illinois (where the species is now rare or altogether gone) is con- 

 densed from Nelson (1877, pp. 38-43). The approach of the breeding 

 season is indicated by the breaking up of the flocks into small groups 

 of two or three pairs. Mating commences about the middle of May and 

 is evidenced by the increasing solicitude which the members of the two 

 sexes show for each other's welfare. During the mating period a 

 solemn bowing of the head is indulged in by both sexes at times, and 

 again one of the birds [female?] will sometimes run back and forth 

 in front of the other [male ?] . Mating accomplished, the male proceeds 

 to the construction of the nest. The eggs having been deposited by the 

 female, the male then begins the work of incubation. That the male 

 does all of the work of incubation is indicated by the fact that it is 

 only the breast and abdomen of this sex which shows the worn feathers 

 and wrinkled skin indicative of an incubating bird. 



Generally a number of pairs nest in the same vicinity, and as 

 many as fifty have been counted within the radius of a mile. During 

 the incubating period the females form small flocks of six or eight, 

 remaining in the vicinity of the nesting grounds. If the breeding 

 ground is approached at this time the birds fly to meet the intruder 

 and hover over his head uttering a weak nasal note. After the first 



