138 BRITISH BIRDS. 



ground. One nest found by Mr. Kennicott near Fort Resolution was a 

 very simple structure, merely a depression in the ground without any 

 lining, under the shelter of a small bush in open country close to the edge 

 of a marsh. Another nest, placed on the ground amongst some small 

 bushes, was a slight hollow lined with a few leaves and twigs. The nests 

 found by MacFarlane were lined with dead leaves, and in some instances 

 were placed near to small lakes. Some of the nests were found as early 

 as the 2nd of June, and in some cases the eggs were hatched by the 19th 

 of that month. MacFarlane noticed in several instances the cock bird 

 perch on the trees near the nest. When the young had hatched out, their 

 parents became very anxious and very noisy, flying from tree to tree 

 before the intruder for a long distance from their nest. The young 

 chicks, seeming to take warning from their screaming parents in the air 

 above them, ran and hid themselves amongst the grass. The eggs are 

 four in number and very handsome. The specimen I have figured was 

 lent to me by Mr. Crowley, and is one of the series which MacFarlane 

 obtained on the Anderson river. The fine series of eggs of this species in 

 the Smithsonian Institution vary in ground-colour from creamy white to 

 pale greyish brown. The surface-spots are dark rich reddish brown, and 

 vary in size from a large pea downwards, many of them becoming con- 

 fluent and forming large irregular blotches, or occasionally taking the 

 form of streaks. Most of the markings are generally on the larger end of 

 the egg, but on some specimens they are more evenly distributed over the 

 entire surface. The underlying markings are pale grey or greyish brown, 

 and are large and conspicuous. The eggs vary in length from T7 to 1'6 

 inch, and in breadth from 1'2 to 1*08 inch. In colour they resemble 

 those of the Greenshank, but in size they are on an average slightly less 

 than those of the Redshank. 



The Yellow-legged Sandpiper feeds on worms, insects, and small 

 mollusks, and is said occasionally to wade into the water to capture 

 small fish. Its note is described as very shrill and several times repeated. 

 Great numbers of these birds are shot when on their autumnal migration, 

 being easily lured by the whistle of the sportsman. Its migration south- 

 wards from its breeding- grounds commences in July and continues through 

 August and September. It is said to arrive regularly about the 1st of 

 August on the Bermudas, where it remains till the end of September. It 

 arrives at its breeding-grounds early in May. 



The Yellow-legged Sandpiper is a larger bird than the Wood- Sandpiper, 

 and has proportionally longer legs. The latter are about one third longer 

 than those of the European species, whilst the other measurements are 

 about a fifth greater. The differences in colour between the two species 

 are very trifling. The American bird has the white on the rump relatively 

 less, and obscured with traces of bars at all ages. In the winter plumage 



