2 SCOLOPACID.E. 



The late Dr. T. M. Brewer writes as follows, with reference to the breeding 

 habits of this species * : — " Mr. MacFarlane met with this species breeding in 

 great abundance throughout the Barren Grounds up to the Arctic coast, but 

 it was not met with before entering these grounds. The nests — which were 

 found from about June 20 to July 10 — were in every instance mere holes in the 

 ground, lined with a few decayed leaves and having a thin sprinkling of hay 

 in the centre. It was very difficult to detect the nest of this species, as the 

 parent bird glides off long before a near approach, and the eggs closely resemble 

 the grass in their colors. This species was very numerous in the Barrens. 

 The female, soon after leaving her nest, usually ascends into the air in a straight 

 line. The young birds leave the nest as soon as hatched, and when approached, 

 hide themselves in the grass, and can be found only with the greatest difficulty. 

 Some were already hatched by July 12. 



" The eggs of this species exhibit very great variations in size, colors, and 

 distribution of markings. In No. 9431 (S. I.) the ground is a pale greenish-ash, 

 with large oblique blotches of different shades of sepia, the lighter inclining to a 

 purplish-slaty tint. In No. 14099 (S. I.) the ground is of a deep muddy or 

 clay-colored drab. The markings are chiefly toward the larger end, where they 

 are confluent on the apex, are of an umber tint varying in the depth of the shade. 

 In No. 9432 (S, I.) the ground is a deep olivaceous drab, and the markings, of a 

 very dark sepia-color, and in the form of irregular small blotches, more numerous 

 toward the larger end. In No. 11401 the ground is a light ashy-green color, 

 and the markings are smaller, more numerous, more longitudinal, and of a 

 much lighter shade of sepia. These eggs are of an oblong-oval shape, slightly 

 pyriform, one end more rounded than the other, and have an average length 

 of about 2-10 inches, and a breadth at the largest portion of 1-90 inches." 



Dr. E. Coues says the eggs of this species vary in measurement "from 1'90 

 by 1-40 to 2-12 by 1-33, averaging about 2-00 by l-45."t 



* 'Water Birds of North America,' toI. i. pp. 321, 322. 

 t ' Birds of the North-West,' p. 512. 



