° 1918 ] Dixon, The Spoon-billed Sandpiper. 399 



blades and moss until he had dug out quite a hole. Then he 

 squatted down in the depression and twisted about, pressing against 

 the moss that formed the sides of the nest, until a cavity about 

 three and one-half inches in diameter and an inch deep was formed. 

 Dead leaves from a creeping Arctic willow that grew in the moss 

 nearby, were used to line the nest. 



We have the following data regarding the dates at which the 

 eggs are laid and the number of eggs in a set. A clue is also 

 afforded as to the time required for the eggs to hatch. 



From the above data it seems probable that the set is of three 

 or four eggs; June 20 to 25 may be taken as the time when laying 

 begins. The eggs of the Spoon-bill found by the author at Provi- 

 dence Bay were not markedly different in markings, shape or color 

 from those of other small sandpipers, such as the Eastern Least 

 Stint. In the field, the eggs of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper ap- 

 peared to be slightly larger than those of the Stint. The measure- 

 ments of the four eggs collected by Kleinschmidt are given by 

 Thayer (1911, p. 154) as follows: " 1.20 X. 92; 1.22 X .90; 

 1.20 X .88; 1.30 X .90 inches." For positive identification, we 

 found it advisable to secure the parent bird with the eggs, and in 

 order that there might be no mistake, the incubating male was 

 secured just as he jumped from the nest. 



Regarding the time required for incubation, we have only 

 circumstantial evidence to offer (see preceding table), but our 

 observations lead us to believe that about eighteen or twenty days 

 elapse between the time the last egg is laid and the first young 

 hatched. 



On July 17, 1913, at Cape Serdze, Siberia, while strolling along 

 the spongy green turf beside a fresh-water pond, my attention was 

 attracted by the "broken wing" antics of a Spoon-billed Sand- 

 piper. Although my eyes remained "glued" on the spot from 

 which the bird arose, no nest or sign of young could be found when 



