THE OOLOGIST. 



67 



The Solitary Sandpipsr. 



This bird is very abiintlaiit lien; dur- 

 ing tlu^ migrations; in fact they are so 

 l)lentitui that for several years I have 

 known them imder the name of "spot- 

 ted sandpiper." Where the spots came 

 in had always been a mystery to me. 



I have had the good fortune to collect 

 three sets of their eggs. As I take skias 

 as well as eggs, there is no mistake in 

 tlie identitieation. 1 had disposed of 

 the eggs under the al)ove erroneous 

 name, when, by an aeeident, 1 discov- 

 ered that my skins, which were labeled 

 Spotted Sandpiper, were those of the 

 Solitary (l^/iydcophilus so/itariu.s.) Af- 

 ter discovering my error, 1 endeavored 

 to get my eggs back, but only succt^eded 

 in recovering one, which now rests 

 safely in my cabinet. 



The first set discovered was in Scott 

 Co., Minn. I am unable to I'ccall the 

 exact dare, but it was al)out the third 

 week in June, 1887. It was on the 

 shore of a iake Avhose edges were over- 

 luing \\ilii willows. The nest was 

 l)laced on tlie ground in a small open- 

 ing surrounded by willows. It was 

 merely a depression in the ground lined 

 with grass. It contained three eggs. 

 They were a grayish color and spotted 

 all o\er Avith dark brown. They were 

 (piite pointed and averaged 1. Box. 93. 



The second set was found July 4, 1888 

 in Sherburne Co., Minn., it was placed 

 about forty feet from the edge of a lake 

 end was concealed in a clump of scat- 

 tered willow bushes. It was a depres- 

 sion in the ground but contained no 

 lining. There Avere four eggs in the set. 

 They resembled somewhat the preced- 

 ing set, but had a more yellowish 

 ground color. They were slightly incu- 

 l)ated. The parent fluttered around 

 trying to attract my attention from her 

 treasures. Her anxious manner was 

 wliat caused me to look for them. 



The third and last set was an a small 

 island in the river. One side of this 



isl.ind is a long, low sandbar covered 

 with Avillows, bushes and some small, 

 scrubby trees. 



On the '.26th of June, 1881), I suddenly 

 came upon one of these birds in the 

 above spot. After a short search I 

 found the nest. It contained three 

 eggs which I left. I returned in about 

 a week, but they had hatchinl and I 

 was unal)le to find aiij" trace of them. 



There is no mistake in my birds 7iou\ 

 as they have been fully identified by 

 two pioniineut oniit liologists of this 

 city. 



Will d:-: i.a B.vititE, 

 ^!inneai)olis, Minn . 



The Summer Redbird. 



As the Robin is universally ackuowl - 

 edged the forerunner of spring, so 

 should the Summer Redbird be acknowl- 

 edged as the l)ird who heralds approach- 

 ing summer, as it makes its first 

 appearance here from the middle till 

 the last of May. 



The Summer Redljird nests twice a 

 yeai", first in May, second in July. The 

 male is onlj' equalled in brilliancy of 

 plumage by the Cardinal Grosbeak and 

 the Orioles in this vicinity. He is cer- 

 tainly a beautifid bird, his feathers, as 

 the name im])]ies, being of a bright, 

 solid red, unrelieved by any other 

 color. 



The pUimage of the female is yellow- 

 ish, dim in color, verging into a darker 

 color on the wings and tail. 



The birds may construct their nest 

 either in a tree or in a bush. I have 

 seen them in both places. When placed 

 in a tree, the nest is usually built at the 

 extremity of a long horizontal limb and 

 is, therefore, very difficult to reach, es- 

 pecially if the limb is of a considerable 

 distance fnnn the ground. Climbing 

 irons are of no avail heiv, for though 

 they might aid you in climbing the tree, 

 they cannot assist you in reaching a 

 nest which is often many feet from the 

 body of the tree. 



