386 The IVater-fowl Family 



Measurements — Length, 9 inches ; wing, 5 inches; culmen, 1.50 

 inches; tarsus, 1. 12 inches; middle toe, .70 inch. 



Eggs — Four in number ; light greenish drab in color, with blotches 

 of brown of various shades; measure 1.50 by 1.05 inches. 



Habitat — Breeds at the delta of the Yenisei River, Siberia, and 

 doubtless other points on the Arctic Coast of Siberia, and a set 

 of eggs ascribed to this species has been taken in Greenland. 

 Winters in Africa, south to the Cape of Good Hope, India, the 

 Malay Archipelago, and Australia, and occurs in migration from 

 Great Britain to China and the Philippines. It occurs frequently 

 in Greenland, and has been recorded from the West Indies and 

 Patagonia. On the mainland of North America it has been 

 recorded from Point Barrow, Alaska, Hudson Bay(?), Nova 

 Scotia, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut (?), Long Island, 

 New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Ontario. 



While common through the northern portions 

 of Europe, the curlew sandpiper is hardly more 

 than a straggler to the Atlantic Coast. It has 

 been taken a number of times on Long Island, 

 and there are a few instances of its occurrence in 

 New England. In northern Greenland it is not 

 uncommon, and breeds. A male of this species 

 taken June 6, 1883, at Point Barrow, Alaska, 

 is the only instance of its appearance on the 

 Arctic or Pacific Coast of America. 



The first eggs of this species, of which the 

 identification is beyond question, are a set of four, 

 taken by Mr. H. L. Popham, at the delta of the 

 Yenisei River, July 3, 1897. The female was 

 flushed from the nest, seen to return to it, and 

 shot when she ran away from it the third or 

 fourth time. These eggs resemble those of the 



