238 LIMICOLA PLATYRHYNCHA. 
notes (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xiv. p. 427) he writes of this species :—“ Fairly 
abundant in the Barren Grounds, but more so on the shores of Franklin Bay, 
where a number of specimens were secured. The female when disturbed 
frequently glides from the nest, pretending to be disabled, and thereby 
endeavors to draw away intruders. Occasionally the nests are hidden by tufts 
of grass.”’] 
LIMICOLA PLATYRHYNCHA (‘Temminck). 
BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER. 
The Broad-billed Sandpiper differs from other wading birds in the 
situation of its nest, choosing open soft places in the marsh where 
there is little else than bog-moss with a light growth of a kind of 
sedge, and on a low tuft just rising above the water its nest may 
be found, often without much difficulty. If the bird is not seen 
to leave it will at all events be heard in the air making a kind of 
faint twittering noise ; and when once it is discovered what neigh- 
bourhood it frequents, a careful search with plenty of beaters seldom 
fails of success. But it must not be supposed that this kind of 
birdnesting is easy work. The marshes where the Broad-billed 
Sandpiper is to be found are few and far between. ‘They are 
soft and full of water, and often every step is a struggle, whilst 
the swarms of hungry gnats require almost undivided attention. 
Satisfactory food is not easy to get; whilst eating, and having to 
expose one’s face to the attacks of the insects, is necessary, though 
extremely provoking. The sun is scorching at midday, but at 
midnight has not enough power to keep away an unpleasant chill. 
The country to be gone over is of vast extent, the egg-season very 
short. Sleep is seldom attainable, a feverish feeling comes on and 
present enjoyment soon ceases; but one works away in the con- 
viction that the greater the difficulty, the greater the satisfaction in 
suecess. 
It is just where the thickest clouds of gnats rise from the water, 
which is so generally spread over the recently thawed land, that the 
Broad-billed Sandpiper has its eggs, and this is just before mid- 
summer, about the third week in June. Many empty nests are 
found for one that is occupied, and I suppose them to be nests 
of former years, for the moss in which they are usually worked long 
retains any mark made in it, being hard frozen for more than haif 
the year. They are neatly rounded hollows, and have a few bits 
