Notes on the Habits of the Breeding Water Birds 79 



noted a dozen or more nests containing fonr eggs each, all 

 far advanced in incubation. This is the earliest date upon 

 which I have noted full complements of eggs. 



The nesting environment of this species is the shell- 

 strewn and grassy areas well above high water mark. It 

 is essential that there be an abundance of vegetation as 

 protection for the eggs and young. The bare wind-swept 

 sandy areas are never used as nesting sites, as their aspect 

 is continually changing, due to the absence of vegetation 

 necessary to bind the saiul to prevent its shifting. When 

 placed among wild oats and other dense beach vegetation, 

 Willets' nests are exceedingly hard to find if the birds are 

 not incubating. The exact location of ninety percent of 

 the nests 1 have found was made known to me b^^ Hushing 

 the sitting bird. If the uninitiated bird student desires a 

 glimpse of their treasures he should never visit tlieir breed- 

 ing grounds before the sun is well up, as an early morning 

 hour will generall}^ prove to be an unfortunate and disap- 

 pointing choice of time. At this time the birds are feed- 

 ing, and therefore are absent from their nests. Willets, 

 of course, feed at other times of day, but it is only at a 

 very^ early hour that a concerted movement of the birds 

 toward their feeding grounds is observed. Oftentimes this 

 species makes no nest other than scooping out a shallow 

 depression in the sand to prevent the eggs from ' rolling. 

 On many occasions, however, I have found really elaborate 

 nests of soft fibrous grasses gathered from localities some 

 distance away. Quite frequently, too, I find eggs de- 

 posited in grassy spots in which situations the birds use the 

 growing grass for nest material, simpl.y bending it down 

 and arranging it in a circular manner. The usual comple- 

 ment of eggs is four, and provided tlie first laying is hatched 

 and the young successfully reared, the birds will not lay 

 again that season. It is usually necessary, however, for a 

 large percentage of the birds to lay two or three sets of 

 eggs before they are finally successful in raising a brood. 

 In addition to those that are collected by ornithologists 

 and others, numbers of eggs are destroyed by predatory 

 animals, and unusually high tides wash many away. Being 



