EED-BREASTED SNIPE. 3 



" Eggs in the Smithsonian Collection, marked as having been obtained by 

 Mr. Bannister on the Island of St. Michael's, May 23, 18G6, are larger than any 

 eggs of the griseus we have ever seen, measuring 1'80 inches in length, by 1'15 

 inches in breadth. They have a ground of a well-pronounced rufous drab, 

 blotched with much darker markings of a deep shade of sepia brown." 



Referring to the supposed differences between M. griaeiis and M. scolojxiceus. 

 Dr. Coues writes * : — " The supposed species [M. scolopaceus), based on larger 

 size and larger bill, is not even entitled to rank as a variety. Almost any flock 

 contains a per cent, of such individuals. The difference in these respects is 

 merely the normal individual variation." 



Mr. E. W. Nelson, who separates Macrorhamphus griseus from M. scolopaceus^ 

 gives the following description of the habits of the latter form, which he met 

 with in Alaska f : — " This is one of the most common waders on the shore of 

 Norton Sound in summer, and is also present in smaller numbers all along the 

 Yukon, where suitable locations occur. It is a rather scarce summer resident 

 about Point Barrow, according to Murdoch. In spring, the middle of May, as 

 the snow disappears, and the first pale leaves of grass begin to thrust their spear- 

 points through the dead vegetable mat on the ground, or as early as the 10th on 

 some seasons, this peculiar Snipe returns to its summer home. At the Yukon 

 mouth I found them on May 12, when they were already engaged in love-making, 

 though the ground was still, to a great extent, covered with snow, and only here 

 and there appeared a thawed place where they could feed. Toward the end of 

 this month they are plentiful, and their curious habits and loud notes make them 

 among the most conspicuous denizens of the marshes. At the Yukon mouth, on 

 May 28, I came across a female busily at work, preparing a little hollow in a 

 tussock for her eggs, and as I drew near she moved a little to one side, and 

 uttered a sharp, querulous note, as if protesting against the intrusion. We took 

 the hint and left her ; but a second visit, some days later, showed the spot 

 deserted. These are very demonstrative birds in their love-making, and the last 

 of May and first of June their loud cries are heard everywhere about their haunts, 

 especially in morning and evening. 



" Two or three males start in pursuit of a female and away they go twisting 

 and turning, here and there, over marsh and stream, with marvellous swiftness 

 and dexterity. At short intervals a male checks his flight for a moment to utter 

 a strident peet u weet ; ivee-too, wee-too ; then on he goes full tilt again. After 

 they have mated, or when a solitary male pays his devotions, they rise 15 or 20 



* ' Birds of the North- West,' p. 477. 



t 'Eeport upon Natural History Collections made in Alaska between the years 1877 and 1881,' 

 pp. 100, 101. 



p2 



