tundra for half an hour during the proper season without finding from 
one to half a dozen of them. 
The nests are usually built in the driest parts of the tundra, 
in a hummock, a tuft of grass, or perhaps a little bunch of dwarf 
willow. As one comes upon it the female usually flutters off at one’s 
feet, and is immediately joined by the male. Both hover about or 
fly restlessly from tussock to tussock, uttering protests at the intruder 
as long as he remains in the vicinity. 
If the eggs are nearly ready to hatch the female shows the great¬ 
est solicitude, and when the young have hatched her anxiety is 
still more pronounced. In one instance the female was frightened 
from her eggs just as they were about to hatch, and ran along the 
ground a few yards uttering a plaintive chee-chee-chee in a fine, vibrat¬ 
ing, metallic tone, at the same time dragging her outspread wings 
and tail on the ground and fluttering as if in mortal agony. 
The nests vary in size, but average about two and three-fourths 
inches in depth by five inches across the top on the outside; the cen¬ 
tral cavity is about two inches deep and three inches across the top. 
The walls are sometimes thick and strong, composed of an abundance 
of material, or may be a mere cup-shaped shell, barely sufficient to 
hold the eggs. The majority of nests are composed of rather coarse 
grass, sometimes with moss interwoven, forming a thick layer, which 
was frecpiently found to be as thoroughly water-soaked as a wet 
sponge. The amount of material used depends upon the situation ; 
in damp places a much greater amount is made use of, while in dry 
places the nests are much lighter. Though the outer part of the 
nest is frequently formed of old and often grimy or partly decayed 
vegetable matter, the interior invariably contains fine, soft, yellow 
blades of last year’s grasses. These, in many instances, are unmixed 
with other materials, but are sometimes combined with feathers of 
ptarmigan or other wildfowl. In a few cases the lining of the nests 
examined by me consisted of a warm cup of feathers inclosed in fine 
grass, and one had a thick lining of feathers and dog’s hair. Some 
nests are so small that they may be inclosed in the hand, while others 
can scarcely be inclosed in both hands; one of the smallest nests 
might be easily inserted in the cavity of a large one. The largest 
nest I found contained the largest eggs, and probably belonged to an 
unusually large bird. The eggs are heavily covered with blotches and 
zigzag lines of various shades of brown, and the ground-color, when 
visible, is a light clay with a pale greenish tinge. 
70 
