124 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



[260.] Pavoncella pugnax (LINN.) [554,] 



Ruff. 



Hab. Northern portions of the Old World; occasionally straying to Eastern North America. 



The male of this species is known as the Ruff and the female as 

 Reeve. It is a bird of wide distribution; found at various seasons of 

 the year throughout Europe, the northern parts of Africa, and in 

 western Asia. Examples of this bird have been taken in Eastern 

 United States, as well as on Long Island and in various places in New 

 England. Dr. Jasper took a specimen November 10, 1872, at the Lick- 

 ing county Reservoir, Ohio. It breeds more or less commonly in 

 England and Scotland, where the eggs are deposited during the first or 

 second week in May. 



The Ruff is about the size of the Bartramian Sandpiper, and it also 

 resembles this bird in color. But the most marked peculiarity of 

 the species is the ruff-like growth of feathers about the neck, from 

 which it takes its name. There is an endless variety of plumage in 

 the birds, the males and females differing widely in this respect. As 

 its specific name, pugnax, implies the bird is of a pugnacious disposi- 

 tion, the males engaging in aggressive combats during the breeding 

 season. Their movements in fighting are said to be something like 

 a game cock. 



Breeds throughout the greater portion of Scandinavia and in 

 Denmark. In Lapland it arrives in the last week of May where it is 

 found along the margin of lakes and rivers ; later in the season it may 

 be found hiding in the tall grass of the marshes. 



The nest is usually placed on a slight elevation in swampy places 

 surrounded by coarse grass of which material it is composed. The 

 eggs are four in number and average 1.60x1.09. Four eggs in my 

 cabinet from England measure 1.64x1.17, I-79X 1.20, 1.64 x 1.18, 1.75 

 xi. 1 2. They are of an oblong pyriforrn shape ; the ground color is of 

 an olive or grayish-green ; the markings are the same as those of the 

 American Jack Snipe eggs but are heavier and more profuse with 

 spots and blotches of umber and blackish-brown. 



261. Bartramia longicauda (BECHST.) [555.] 



Bartramian Sandpiper. 



Hab. Eastern North America, north to Nova Scotia and Alaska. Breeds throughout its range. 

 South in winter as far as Southern South America. 



Bartram's Tattler is distributed more or less abundantly through- 

 out the United States, but is rare west of the Rocky Mountains. 

 Breeds commonly from the middle districts Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 

 Iowa, Minnesota and Dakota northward, into the Fur Country, and in 

 Alaska. It is very numerous on the prairies of the interior, and is 



