58S BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. 



met with this species nesting plentifully at Point Barrow in Northern 

 Alaska, though on the Yukon and southwards to Sitka it appears to 

 be uncommon. Mr. E. W. Nelson found it rather numerous on 

 August I St 1880 on the north coast of Siberia to the west of 

 Koliuchin Bay, and says that the birds were evidently on their 

 breeding-grounds there ; while Dr. von Middendorff has recorded 

 an example from the Sea of Okhotsk, shot on June 30th. On 

 migration it is found throughout the United States, though irregularly 

 and rather sparsely in the north-east ; becoming more plentiful in 

 Louisiana (where the specimen which A'ieillot described was 

 obtained), and thence southward to Mexico. It visits the Bermudas, 

 Cuba, Trinidad, and probably other islands in the West Indies, 

 passing the winter in South America down the Rio de la Plata. 



Mr. Murdoch notes the arrival at Point Barrow as from June 6th 

 to 8th, the birds frequenting the drier portions of the tundras, and 

 depositing their eggs, 4 in number, in a shallow depression lined 

 with a little moss. When at Washington, I had the pleasure of 

 inspecting the superb series obtained by Mr. MacFarlane, and 

 certainly the eggs of few waders present such beauty or variety ; 

 the prevailing ground-colour is pale buff or olive, the underlying 

 markings being lavender-grey, and the blotches rich reddish-brown 

 to black : average measurements i"45 by i in. As a rule the species 

 is remarkably quiet, even at the season of courtship, though at 

 times two males will meet and go through a performance of sparring 

 or showing-off, while a solitary bird may often be seen walking 

 about with one wing extended high in the air. Early in August the 

 migration southward takes place ; and as the food consists of beetles, 

 grasshoppers and other insects which are plentiful in autumn, the 

 bird becomes remarkably fat, and is much esteemed for the table. 

 The note is a faint tioeet. 



The Buff-breasted Sandpiper may easily be recognized by the 

 beautiful black viarblmgs on the under side of the primaries and 

 secondaries : these markings being much more pronounced in the 

 adults than in the young. The upper parts are bufifish-brown 

 mottled with black, a slight greenish tinge showing on the tips of 

 the primaries and on the central tail-feathers, the other tail-feathers 

 being somewhat barred towards the tips ; the under parts are 

 rufous-buff, with a few black spots on the throat and sides of the 

 breast. In the young the feathers of the upper parts are broadly 

 edged with dull white, the under parts are paler, and the spots are 

 smaller. Length 8 in., wing 5 "25. Superficially the bird is not 

 unlike a Ruff, though much smaller than even a Reeve. 



