BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. 437 



September, 1870 (B. Cornwall, p. 100). Mr. D'Urban states 

 (Guide to Exeter, p. 122) that one was killed on the Exe in 

 August, 1851 ; and in the autumn of 1858 one was shot by 

 Mr. Spencer Heaven at Lundy Island, in the Bristol Channel, 

 and passed into the collection of Dr. Woodforde of Taunton. 



In Ireland, as recorded by Mr. F. M'Coy (Ann. Nat. Hist, 

 xv. p. 271), a specimen was obtained near Dublin, and is 

 now in the Natural History Museum of that city ; and two 

 were obtained at Belfast in October, 1864 (Zool. 1866, 

 p. 457). As regards Scotland, Mr. R. Gray says (B. of 

 W. Scot. p. 319) that a specimen obtained in Caithness is 

 still in the collection which belonged to the late Mr. Sinclair 

 of Wick. 



According to Vieillot, and Degland and Gerbe, a bird of 

 the year killed near Abbeville in Picardy was in the collec- 

 tion of M. J. de Lamotte, but MM. Marmottan and Yian, 

 in their recent catalogue of rare birds (Bull. Soc. Zool. Fr. 

 1879, p. 245), make no mention of it. In the collection 

 of Mr. Gatke, of Heligoland, there is, however, an example 

 killed on that island on the 9th May, 1847 ; and this seems 

 to be the only authenticated occurrence in Europe beyond 

 the British Islands. 



The Buff-breasted Sandpiper's summer-haunts are in the 

 Arctic portions of the American Continent. Specimens 

 presented by Dr. Eae are in the British Museum, obtained 

 at Eepulse Bay, and at Fort Simpson, on the 14th of June ; 

 and it breeds abundantly in the Anderson River district 

 and along the Arctic coast, where Mr. MacFarlane obtained 

 many eggs. It has been obtained in June at Point Barrow, 

 Alaska, but below Nelato, on the Yukon, according to Mr. 

 Dall, it is rare, and it has only once been obtained at Sitka. 

 At St. Michael's, Alaska, Mr. E. W. Nelson only obtained 

 two in the course of four years, but he found it quite common 

 at Cape Wankarern, on the Siberian side, early in August, 

 1881 (Cruise of the 'Corwin' p. 90).* Nuttall says (Man. 



* Middendorff (Sib. Reise, ii. p. 221) records one shot on the 30th June on 

 the Sea of Okhotsk, but Mr. Harting thinks that this must have been Tringa 

 acuminata, which has a buff breast in summer. 



