Vol. XXIX1 



1912 



J Moore, Least Sandpiper in the Magdalen Islands. 211 



over a pathetic little flight song. By this time the more abundant 

 and more vociferous Wilson's Snipes are hurtling about in tumultur 

 ous excitement, those, concerned with young near at hand, making 

 spectacular dives to earth, there to grovel and flutter, while others 

 are cutting eccentric figures overhead and ever and anon sharply 

 plunging down the skies to the accompaniment of their wild wing- 

 songs. Other species, too, are demanding attention: the Savannah 

 Sparrows buzz on all sides, Rusty Blackbirds hoarsely rasp from 

 the marsh-edges, Blackpolls clink their pipes in the bayberry 

 clumps, and Fox Sparrows innumerable bell from the surrounding 

 hills. Nevertheless the Sandpiper and the Snipe seem the rightful 

 owners of the marsh, the only ones that require just such a wet 

 situation and no other for the setting of their homes. 



x\ll told we found five nests of the Least Sandpiper, four of them 

 close together at the southwest end of the marsh, in an area not 

 over a hundred yards in diameter. The fifth nest was discovered 

 by my companion, Mr. Wm. L. Baily, in the damp end of a grassy 

 field, where it borders the marsh along its southern margin. All 

 of the nests were in damp situations and those in the marsh were 

 on ground so sponge-like that one could not kneel without getting 

 wet. Adequate protection from the dampness was afforded three 

 of the marsh nests by a layer of dead, chocolate-colored leaves, 

 presumably secured from the bayberry bushes. The lining of the 

 fourth nest consisted of narrow strips of glistening white Eel-grass, 

 Zostera marina, which not only bottomed the nest-concavity, but 

 also curled its surplus of satin strands out and around the grassy 

 tuft into a most conspicuous and charming decoration. Conspicu- 

 ous as it was against the dark background, it was not absolutely 

 tell-tale, for similar curls were scattered about the neighborhood 

 and decreased the danger of discovery. The field nest was lined 

 with grass which harmonized perfectly with the standing grasses 

 that met above and made detection difficult. The customary 

 lining seems to be leaves, and nests, so lined, though couched in 

 short grass and open to view, are in reality well-concealed, for the 

 chocolate-blotched eggs are almost invisible in their dark setting. 



Four eggs were ultimately the complement of all the nests, though 

 one when discovered, contained but a single egg. These were 

 indistinguishable in shape and size, but varied considerably in 



