144 NOTES ON THE 



ACTITIS MACULARIl (L.). (263.) 

 SPOTTED SANDPIPER. 



Kennicott found these birds at the Lake of the Woods on 

 the 31st of May, but says nothing of their breeding there, 

 nevertheless, from an acquaintance with their habits over the 

 rest of the State generally, I have no doubt that they were. They 

 reach the southern parts about the second week in April, and in 

 exceptionally early springs, in the last days of March, (1861, )in 

 large numbers, and after distributing themselves universally 

 over the country, so that scarcely a stream of water of any magni- 

 tude from the outlet of a perennial spring in the wilderness, 

 to the Mississippi river, or lake of any size down to a pond or 

 a pool, can be found which has not its representation of the 

 species. About the 25th of April they begin nesting in all 

 sorts of places, from the margins of the water to the depth of 

 the brushlands and forests, wherever they can scratch a hollow in 

 the ground, not already provided, and when they have sparingly 

 lined the depression with grass, moss, or straws of almost any 

 available, flexible material, they deposit in them four yellow- 

 ish- buff colored eggs, blotched and spotted with ' ' umber and 

 sienna" which often becomes confluent on the larger end. 



Their nests are frequently found in May and June. Several 

 have been discovered in the wheat-fields, and corn-fields near 

 the small lakes south of Minneapolis, and a ramble of a couple 

 of hours in Grant county is rewarded with securing more or 

 less almost uniformly. 



Dr. Hvoslef obtained them at Lanesboro on the 30th of May, 

 and I have private records as late as July 3d, so there can be 

 little doubt that they bring out two broods, or vary the time of 

 incubation almost unprecedentedly. 



Early in August the families begin to be seen occasionally, 

 and later flocks, which gradually increase in size till about 

 their time for the fall migration, when they become larger, and 

 are almost constantly on the wing until they are all gone, 

 which is sometimes from October 25th to November 10th. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Small; bill rather longer than head; straight, slender; long 

 grooves in both mandibles; wing pointed, rather long; tail 

 medium, rounded; legs rather long; lower third of tibia naked; 

 toes long, margined, flattened underneath; outer connected to 

 the middle toe by a large membrane; inner very slightly con- 

 nected to the middle toe; upper parts brownish olive-green, 



