THE OOLOGIST. 



103 



the boat with egg cases, etc. Then 

 the boat has to be gotten away from 

 the rocks while the eggs are marked 

 and placed in the cases. Then an- 

 other landing made to take us off. 



H. F. DUPREY. 



More About the Solitary Sandpiper. 



Edge Hill, Mont. Co., Pa., 

 May 9, 1906. 

 My Dear Mr. Short: — 



I notice in the March number of 

 the Oologist your question concern- 

 ing the identity of Totanus Solitarius. 

 In response to this I will say that the 

 record is positive so far as identifica- 

 tion goes. While the nest was not 

 found, the size of the young entirely 

 precluded any idea of protracted flight 

 such as would be necessary for a mi- 

 grant. I am perfectly aware of the 

 caution that is a necessity in the case 

 of a strike of this kind, but being very 

 well acquainted with the Spotted 

 Sandpiper as a summer resident and 

 the Solitary as a migrant, I do not 

 hesitate to give this as a good record. 



In addition, it might be entertain- 

 ing to the readers of the Oologist to 

 throw a little additional light on the 

 status of this bird as a nester in 

 Pennsylvania. This I will endeavor to 

 do in the shape of a few records. I 

 have been informed by Mr. S. N. 

 Rhoads that Mr. Todd has met with it 

 in summer in Western Pa. (Beaver 

 Co.). In Stone's "Birds of Eastern 

 Pa. and X. J.," there is another record 

 of a pair having been observed in 

 summer in the central part of the 

 state. Finally, in Cassinia for 1905, 

 (page 17) there is another record of 

 Solitary being noted throughout the 

 summer in Monroe Co., Pa. This is 

 an exceptionally good "backer" to my 

 record, as the holder of this and my- 

 self were pursueing our investigations 

 at the same time within 15 miles of 

 one another, each ignorant of the 



others presence. 



I offer this, then, as the first record 

 of this bird as a rare summer resi- 

 dent of Pike Co., Pa. 



Would be pleased to know if you 

 have any other records. 

 Yours truly, 

 RICHARD C. HARLOW. 



The Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia, 



June 21, 1906. 

 Dear Mr. Short: — 



The note in your May issue by Dr. 

 Morris Gibbs, reflecting upon Mr. 

 Harlow's observation of young Soli- 

 tary Sandpipers in Pike Count, Penn., 

 seems to call for a reply. To Dr. 

 Gibbs' plea for the necessity of accu- 

 rate observation, I heartily agree, but 

 it is a reflection upon the editors of 

 this and other correct ornithological 

 magazines to infer that they are not 

 satisfied with the reliability of con- 

 tributors, whose articles they publish. 

 Furthermore, it is extremely danger- 

 ous to make statements about regions 

 that one is not personally acquainted 

 with. 



Mr. Harlow is an exceedingly accu- 

 rate observer and perfectly familiar 

 with the difference between the Soli- 

 tary and Spotted Sandpipers. More- 

 over, he was thoroughly acquainted 

 with the status of these birds in 

 Pennsylvania and of the importance 

 which attaches to his observation. 



A number of reliable ornithologists 

 have seen the Solitary Sandpiper in 

 the mountain regions of Pennsylvania 

 in the nesting season. I have myself 

 observed them a few miles south of 

 Mr. Harlow's locality, acting in a way 

 that indicated the close proximity of 

 the nest, though I failed to find it. 



As Dr. Gibbs states, most of the 

 birds go far north to breed, but like 

 many other breeders they find along 

 the higher Alleghenies and the Po- 



