NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 117 



247. Ereunetes occidentalis Lawr. [541^.] 



'Western Sandpiper. 



Hab. Western North America; occasionally eastward to the Atlantic coast; breeding far north. 

 Migrating in winter to Central and South America. 



Very much like the last species and there is essentially no differ- 

 ence in its general habits, nesting, eggs and other peculiarities. 



Abundant in Alaska, breeding along the Yukon and the shores and 

 islands of Norton Sound. Nests commonly on the Island of St. 

 Michael's, depositing four eggs in nests which are mere hollows in the 

 ground with a few blades of grass for lining. In June and July it is 

 said to breed abundantly on the islands in the bays along the Arctic 

 coast and also in the Barren Lands. The eggs are said to exhibit as 

 great variation as those of E. ptisillus. 



248. Calidris arenaria (Linn.) [542.] 



Sanderling. 



Hab. Nearly cosmopolitan, breeding in high Arctic regions. 



The Sanderling, Ruddy "Plover" or "Beach Bird," is a species 

 of wide distribution. During the breeding season it is distributed 

 through the northern regions of Europe, Asia and North America. 

 It inhabits, however, the entire continent of North America, wander- 

 ing in its migrations through the United States, and in winter to the 

 West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America. Its nests and eggs 

 have been taken in Grinnell Land, and it is said to breed on islands 

 about the coast of Greenland and on the shores and islands of Hud- 

 son Bay. Dr. Brewer states that Mr. MacFarlane, on June 29, dis- 

 covered a nest with four eggs on the Barren Lands, near the Arctic 

 coast. The eggs at this date were quite fresh. The nest is said to 

 have been made of hay and decayed leaves. The eggs are ashy or 

 greenish-brown, spotted and blotched with brown of different shades, 

 pyriform in shape ; two to four in number, and measure 1.41 by .91. 



249. Limosa fedoa (Linn.) [543.] 



Marbled God^nrit. 



Hab. North America in general. Breeds in the Missouri and Upper Mississippi regions, thence to 

 the Saskatchewan. Winters in the Southern States and southward. 



The Great Marbled Godwit, or Marlin, inhabits the entire temper- 

 ate North America, and it is a common bird during the migrations 

 and in winter. It breeds chiefly in the Mississippi and Eastern Mis- 

 souri regions, in Iowa, Minnesota and Dakota, thence to the Saskatch- 

 ew^an ; known to breed in Northern Ohio, in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minne- 

 sota, Kansas and Nebraska. This is the largest of the " Bay birds," 

 except the Long-billed Curlew, and can readily be distinguished, its 

 bill being either straight or bent a little upward, and not decurved, 

 like the Curlew's. It frequents muddy pools, sandy shores and 



