AMERICAlSr STINT. 3 



tint, blotched and dotted with very dark umber, the markings larger and more 

 numerous towards the broad end. They were placed with their pointed ends 

 together, and were quite fresh. The nest lay under the lea of a small rock, exposed 

 to all the heat the sun can afford in that country. No sooner had the little 

 creatures felt assured that I had discovered their treasure, than they manifested a 

 great increase of sorrow, flew from the top of one crag to another in quick 

 succession, and emitted notes resembling the syllables peep, peet, which were by 

 no means agreeable to my feelings, for I was truly sorry to rob them of their eggs, 

 although impelled to do so by the love of science, which affords a convenient 

 excuse for even worse acts. 



" This pair, however, would seem to have been late in depositing their eggs, 

 for on the 4th of August my party and myself saw young birds almost as large as 

 their parents, and agreeing in almost every point with the descriptions given of 

 Tringa temminckii. Many small flocks of these birds, consisting of old and 

 young, were already departing from Labrador, and were seen on all our excursions. 

 On the 11th of August we also found adult and young in great numbers. But 

 not a single newly hatched individual of this species could I procure, while the 

 young of the Ring Plover were very abundant." 



Referring to the American Stint, the late Dr. T. M. Brewer writes * : — " This 

 species was found breeding abundantly at Fort Anderson, on the Barren Grounds, 

 at Lake Rendezvous, and near the Arctic Coast, by Mr. MacFarlane. Of the 

 twenty nests, the notes of which we have examined, all but six were taken between 

 the 21st and 30th of June, none being recorded as later than the 3rd of July. 

 The number of eggs is generally given as four — in no instance more. The nests 

 Avere always on the ground, and generally a mere depression, with a lining of a 

 few dry leaves and grasses, and usually near small lakes. The female, as she 

 fluttered off her nest, often imitated the flight of a wounded bird, and if left 

 undisturbed, almost immediately retiu-ned to her nest. If persistently interrupted, 

 she kept about the nest, and endeavoured by simulated lameness to draw off the 

 intruders, soon becoming quite wary, if shot at. 



" One set of the eggs of this species, collected near the Arctic coast by 

 Mr. MacFarlane (S. I. No. 9377), measure I'lo inches by -85. The ground is a 

 light drab, thinly marked with sepia-brown spots, patches of which are suffused with 

 the ground-color, giving them an ashy effect. The markings are more numerous, 

 and of greater size about the larger end. The eggs are decidedly pyriform in 

 shape. Another set (S. I. No. 3324), collected on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, by 



* ' Water Birds of North America,' vol. i. p. 240. 



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