"^°'" ™"^] MousLEY, Birds of Hatley, Que. 65 



which no doubt they were better able to keep a sharp lookout for any- 

 approaching danger. 



15. Totanus flavipes (Gmelin). Lesser Yellow-legs. — Rare 

 transient; July 9 to Aug. 10. I have only seen seven examples of this bird 

 so far, four in July and thi-ee in August, so that no doubt Hatley, as suggested 

 in the case of the Greater YeUow-legs, lies outside the general line of migi-a- 

 tion. When disturbed these birds only gave vent to a single " when " as 

 against the thi-ee uttered in succession by their cousin the Greater Yellow- 

 legs, whose notes are also louder and harsher. I have never seen them 

 alight on anything but the ground. 



16. Helodromas solitarius (Wilson). Solitary Sandpiper. — Com- 

 mon transient; May 9 to 31; July 18 to Oct. 21. Average date of arrival 

 (for three years) May 19; of departure (for two years) Oct. 7. On a few 

 occasions only have I seen this Sandpiper in the company of others, and 

 then generally the Least was its companion. It is particularly fond of wad- 

 ing about in the water up to its belly, but only on two occasions have I seen 

 it swim. On the first of these a bird deliberately waded out of its depth, and 

 then took to swimming about for half a minute or so, in the most matter of 

 fact way, and on the second a wing tipped bird swam half way across the 

 marsh before being able to reach a little mudbank on which it alighted. Dur- 

 ing the past two years I have observed seventy of these birds, the largest num- 

 ber seen together being six on one occasion only, whilst three, four and five 

 have been noted several times. Only once have I seen it alight on the top 

 of a tree stump, the ground or a log in my experience being the usual place. 

 I see no reason why some day they should not be found breeding here, as 

 the ponds they frequent with the surrounding woods seem likely enough 

 places. 



17. Bartramia longicauda (Bechstein). Bartramian Sandpiper. — 

 Rare summer visitant; May 10 to Aug. 20. Eggs: May 24. It was on 

 the 24th of May, 1913, that I received word of a bird of this species, having 

 been shotat close range, as it rose suddenly from the ground late the pre- 

 vious evening. Naturally I was not long in visiting the farm, which was 

 only some few miles away, and being shown the field and place near where 

 the bird had risen, I soon came across the nest, which was a natm'al depres- 

 sion in the ground in the centre of a bunch of buttercups, lined with dry 

 grasses only, and contained a beautiful set of four evenly spotted eggs 

 (average size 1.72 X 1.23), one being of a much lighter ground colour than 

 the other tliree. The following year I was again notified that a pair of 

 birds were about, but on the only two occasions on which I was able to visit 

 the locality, I failed to locate their nest, although I have every reason to 

 believe, they brought up a brood, as they were seen and heard several 

 times again during the remainder of the summer. During the. present 

 year (1915) a parent bird with young was seen by two parties in the same 

 district in which my set of eggs was taken, although at somewhat widely 

 different points, so that possibly the breeding area and number ci^birds is 

 larger than I imagined. However this may be, I look upon it as quite 



