THE AUK: 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 

 ORNITHOLOGY. 



Vol. xxxv. October, 1918. No. 4. 



THE NESTING GROUNDS AND NESTING HABITS OF 

 THE SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER. 1 



BY JOSEPH DIXON. 



Plate V. 



The Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmceus) is 

 essentially an Asiatic species. There are but three specimens 

 claimed to have been taken in North America, as far as known to 

 the author, with some doubt attached to the locality of capture of 

 one of these, which fact probably indicates that the occurrence of 

 the bird in North America is irregular or casual. If the species 

 nests on the Arctic shores of Alaska, or even habitually visits the 

 region, it is reasonable to believe that the presence of so peculiar a 

 bird would have been detected by more of the naturalists that have 

 collected along the Alaska coast between Bering Strait and Point 

 Barrow. 



The Spoon-billed Sandpiper appears to be unknown to the 

 American Eskimo, for the author was unable to find one among 

 those interviewed who recognized it when skins were exhibited. 

 On the other hand the "Chuckchies" of northeastern Siberia are 

 familiar with the species, calling the bird by name when shown 

 specimens. 



The species is included in the A. O. U. ' Check-List ' as a North 



1 Contribution from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of Cali- 

 fornia. 



387 



