OP THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 211 



to the Rocky Mountains, in countless hosts, on its way north to breed, returning 

 in greater numbers to its winter quarters when the duties of reproduction are 

 over. Great numbers also pass along the coast. The migration north commences 

 in April and lasts into May, by the end of the latter month all the birds breeding 

 in higher latitudes having sped away, only those remaining that breed on the 

 more northern prairies of the States. The return migration commences in 

 August, and by the end of September the most northerly breeding grounds are 

 deserted. When on actual passage this species is said to migrate by night. It is 

 a bird of rapid, powerful flight, and during the breeding season alights on trees 

 and posts, where, with wings elevated, it utters a prolonged note, like the 

 whistling or sighing of the wind. The usual note of Bartram's Sandpiper is 

 described as a mellow whistle ; and, when disturbed from the nest, the sitting bird 

 utters an oft-repeated harsh scream. The prolonged whistling note is said often 

 to be heard at night. Bartram's Sandpiper, for the greater part of the year, is 

 a very gregarious bird ; and, even in the breeding season, numbers of pairs nest 

 close together. The food of this species consists principally of insects, such as 

 grasshoppers and beetles ; but worms and snails are also eaten. In summer and 

 autumn the bird also eats various kinds of ground fruits and berries, seeds, and 

 the buds and shoots of certain plants growing on the prairies. Its flesh is highly 

 esteemed for the table, especially in early autumn, when it is very fat and in 

 good condition. 



Nidification. The breeding season of Bartram's Sandpiper begins 

 towards the end of May or early in June, and, even in northern localities, the 

 eggs are usually laid by the middle of that month. The nest is made upon the 

 ground, amongst the grass of the prairies and uplands, sometimes near the 

 margin of a small pool, or in an open swampy spot near a wood. It is merely 

 a hollow, into which a few bits of dry grass or dead leaves are collected 

 as a lining. The eggs are four in number, varying from pale greyish-buff to pale 

 huffish-brown in ground-colour, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown, paler 

 brown, and underlying markings of grey. They measure on an average rSinch 

 in length by l'3inch in breadth. Several nests may often be found quite close 

 to each other, so that as soon as the birds belonging to one are disturbed the 

 others breeding in the vicinity become alarmed, and general confusion prevails. 

 The female incubates the eggs ; but the period taken up by this is still unrecorded 

 by American naturalists. She sits closely, and is said to indulge in various 

 alluring antics when scared from the nest. As soon as the broods are grown, 

 Bartram's Sandpiper again begins to join into large flocks, which roam about the 

 uplands in quest of suitable feeding places, until the period of departure for the 

 south or (in the Southern hemisphere) north. But one brood is reared in the season. 



Diagnostic characters. Bartramia, with the inner webs of the 

 primaries conspicuously barred, and the tail wedge-shaped. Length, 12 inches. 



