BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 307 



History. 



This is the only Sandpiper in New England which appar- 

 ently is more common in the interior than on the coast. 

 Although it sometimes frequents salt marshes and the shores 

 of tidal streams, it is not commonly met with on the sea beach. 

 It is a bird of inland ponds and streams, and frequents the 

 shores of small wooded creeks. While it is not as solitary 

 during migration as its name implies, it rarely flocks, and, 

 usually, only a pair or a few individuals are seen in the same 

 neighborhood. During the breeding season this bird is met 

 with rarely in Massachusetts, and though it sometimes summers 

 as far south as Pennsylvania, very little is known of its breeding 

 habits. It is said that it nests on the ground, and also in the 

 abandoned nests of other birds in trees. Mr. Gerald H. Thayer 

 tells me that formerly it summered on Mount Monadnock, in 

 southern New Hampshire. At that season it appears, indeed, 

 to be most solitary, as it is rare to find more than one bird in a 

 locality, even in those northern States where undoubtedly it 

 breeds. 



The decrease of this bird has not been as noticeable as that 

 of many other Sandpipers because of its rather solitary habits 

 and its preference for sylvan retreats. The shore gunner rarely 

 sees many, and the pot-hunter ordinarily has little chance to 

 get more than one bird at a shot. Nevertheless only five 

 Massachusetts observers report an increase of the species, 

 while one hundred and thirty-eight note a decrease. 



When the ponds are low in August we may look for the 

 Solitary Sandpiper on the exposed shores and sand bars. It 

 goes south mainly through the interior, and although it is the 

 eastern form of the species, it has been taken in Mexico. 

 Still, it may cross the Mexican Gulf and the Caribbean Sea, 

 as it has been noted in Porto Rico and Vera Cruz. It prob- 

 ably visits a large part of northern and eastern South America; 

 it may even reach the Pacific coast of that continent, as it is 

 noted from Lower California. 



This bird has a curious habit of balancing its body and 

 nodding its head, like the Spotted Sandpiper, but the action 



