BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER. 5 



then, just as they are at a right distance to kill, dropping down suddenly, and 

 causing you to shoot thereby over their heads. They frequent grassy and sedgy 

 parts of the marsh, where the ground is neither too wet nor the vegetation too 

 high, never being seen actually in the water or amongst bushes, but where the 

 soil is such that an ordinary man's foot would sink a couple of inches into the 

 mud at each step. They lie, usually, very close, rise with a low but shrill whistle, 

 and almost invariably are in pairs ; in wet and windy weather, however, like 

 most other birds, they become very wild, and I have seen them at such times go 

 through the same motions as a drumming Snipe, the descending motion with 

 quivering wings being accompanied by a high tremulous whistle. Those shot at 

 Fokstuen have a slight rufous tinge in the breast, due to the iron oxide in the 

 wet soil they frequent." 



Referring to this Sandpiper Prof. Collett writes * : — " The extensive swampy 

 tracts near Fokstuen, on the Dovre, are the oldest and best known habitat of 

 this bird in Norway. It is, however, a rather common bird on all the fells in the 

 southern parts of the country. On the Dovre, I have found it every season for 

 some years past resident on stretches of exceedingly marshy ground, with a 

 sparse overgrowth of Carices. Their numbers, however, are anything but great. 

 In June 1838, Mr. Lagesen 'succeeded in killing' 26 of these birds, and in 

 taking as many nests ; but this would be hardly possible at the present time. 



" When searching for food, they hurry hither and thither, with nodding head 

 and bill pointing obliquely to the ground. If flushed, they will utter a few 

 mellow, flute-like tones, at intervals mingled with a harsher note. . . . 



" A nest found hereabouts, on the 9th June 1872, contained 4 eggs, 

 which had been sat upon for about eight and forty hours. It was lined with a 

 few straws, and located in one of the most swampy spots, the eggs being half 

 immersed in the cold water. The eggs measured from 32 to 33 by 22 mm. 

 [1*26 to 1"30 inch by "86 inch] ; on a whitish ground they are thickly covered 

 with reddish brown spots, which collect and form a zone at the bigger end. One 

 of the eggs was lighter (the spots less numerous) than the rest. The old birds 

 kept in the neighbourhood of the nest and displayed considerable anxiety. 

 Incubation-spots were found in both sexes. 



" The breeding time would appear to be about the middle of June, fresh 

 eggs have, however, been found as late as the 24th June, and young birds not 

 fully fledged at the end of July (by Mr. Dann)." 



' Remarks on the Ornithology of Northern Norway,' p. 75. 



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