THE TUENSTONB. 425 



building its nest in the Hudson's Bay country, early in 

 June: this nest is nothing but a slight hollow scratched 

 in the earth, and lined with a few pieces of grass or sea- 

 weed. The eggs are four in number : they are of an olive 

 color, sometimes a drab ; and are marked with spots and 

 blotches of reddish and black, chiefly at the greater end, 

 where they are confluent, and nearly cover and conceal 

 the ground-color. Their form is abruptly pyriform ; '.ind 

 their dimensions average about 1.55 by 1.15 inch. 



It is rarely that we find two specimens of this bird in the 

 full plumage, or marked alike : they exhibit all the varieties, 

 from almost entirely gray on their upper parts, to the 

 plumage described above. 



