Shore-bird Shooting 399 



the middle of May into pairs, and seeking the 

 open country to breed. The males carry on a 

 very vociferous courtship, uttering continually a 

 loud ku-w'ew, and occasionally a rolling whistle, 

 resembling that of the Bartramian sandpiper. 

 The nest is placed in the sedge grass on the 

 ground, and contains usually two eggs. Numbers 

 of the birds breed in comparatively small territory, 

 and if this is disturbed, resent the intrusion with 

 wild commotion, circling about and uttering cries 

 of distress. The young are hatched in June and 

 fly in July, all leaving at the approach of fall. 

 On the Pribilof Islands the birds disappear in 

 May and return late in August. Marshes near 

 the shore and the adjacent flats are their resorts, 

 and here they feed on small shellfish and animal- 

 culae. The flesh is excellent. 



The bar-tailed godwit, of which this bird is a 

 subspecies, with habits probably identical, nests 

 on the tundra in the northern part of Siberia. 

 The nest is very difficult to find, as the female 

 sits close, her back exactly resembling the sur- 

 rounding ground, and the nest itself is merely a 

 slight hollow lined with a few grasses somewhere 

 on the great waste of rolling tundra. The male, 

 on the other hand, assails the intruder, when he 

 is half a mile from the nest, with violent scream- 

 ing, and stays with him until he leaves the place. 

 The note is said to sound like koo-wak. 



