

,3 



156 



riLKCOClAL OKALI.ATtHtKS - LIMirOL/K 



otlicr's im'st'Mco us long us it is undistiirlMMl. yet if iilarmod tlioy riso and join in 

 Hocks. Tiu'v run witii },'r('at swiftness and ;,'iiui' over tiic sandy lifacdirs. Tlicy 

 arc a very silent liird except wiien tlicir treasures are tlireatcncil or when sud- 

 <leidy alarmed. Tiiey arc wnsus|>icious to an unusual dc;,'rce, few Waders more .so, 

 and may always he reailily aiiproaclicd. The younj,' acconi|)any the parents as 

 .soon as hatched, and until nearly f,'rown are sheltered hy the mother in the num- 

 ner of the domestic hen. When first hatched they have a somewhat striking mottled 

 appearance. 



On Lake Koskouonj,'. in IST.'t. this sjieeies had reached its t,M"<'i't<'st alumdanoe hy 

 the l."ith of .\uj,Mist; and (iiraud mentions its always arrivinj,' in Konj,' I.sland in 

 the latti-r part of the same month. It passes northward in its sjirinf; mif,'rations 

 early in May. (Iiraud states that this Plover frccpu'iits the sanu' situations with the 

 Semipalmatcd Sandpiper, in company with which it is often seen j^atherinj^ its food, 

 and like that liird admitting,' of a very near a|iproach. When alarnu'd. it utters a 

 very sharp note. Late in the fall it mi},'ratcs south. 



Auduhon states that in their l>reedin.i,'-|ilaces hirds (d' this species resort to moun- 

 tainous mossy lands. In liahrador he met with them in almost every [dace at which 

 he landed, and found them breedinjj; in all the spots that were adapted for that 

 jMirpose. On heinj,' surjuMsed, when in charj,'e of their youn};, they wouhl heat the 

 p^round with the extremities of their opened winjj;s. as if unalilc to rise. If pursued, 

 they at first permitted a near approach, and then took to Hij,dit, seekiu},' to <leeoy the 

 intruder fnuu their younjj, which sipiatted .so closely that it was ditticult to distin},'uish 

 them. If the latter were traced, they ran swiftly off, uttering a plaintive prpjK which 

 never failed to i)ring their mothers to their aid. 



In that regiiui this bird hegins to breed early in June, and young ones Jiboiit a 

 week old were procured on the I'd of dune. The nest of this species is sim])ly a 

 small cavity in the nuiss, in a place sheltered from the north winds, and open to the 

 full rays of the sun, and usually near the margins of small ponds. The eggs are 

 always four, and placed with the snuiU ends together; they are pyriform in shape 

 — pointed at one end, and obtuse at the other. 



AudidMui states that by the iL'th of August all the individuals that had bred in 

 Labrador had taken their departure, .some proceeding by the Atlantic shore, others 

 by the great lakes and rivers. .\t this period they are sometimes seen in plougheil 

 fields searching for insects and worms. Their \isiuil food consists of small Crustacea, 

 mollusks, and the ova of marine aniumls. 



This I'lover extends its migr:itions to the shores of the Arctic Sea, and in these 

 more northern localities' lines the de])ression in the .sand which serves for its nest with 

 dried grasses. i\rr. MacFarlaiM> found its nest made of withered leaves and grasses 

 in a depression on the shore just above high-water mark. This bird was said to 

 be tolerably numerous in that region. Mr. Kennicott found it eonimon on the 

 shores of Lake Winnipeg. It was also found by Mr. Dall to be very common at 

 Nulato, St. Michael's, and near the mouth of the Y\ikon. There also the eggs were 

 found laid in small depressions, made very smooth and round, and lined with 

 a little dry grass, very carefully ])ut in. The nests observed contained only two 

 eggs each. 



Mr. MacFarlane found this species qiiite common on the shores of the Arctic Sea, 

 at Franklin Bay, at Anderson River, Fort .Vndcrson, and other localities near the 

 coast. The nests were always mere cavities dug in the soil, sometimes with a few 

 withered leaves, and occasionally with no lining whatever. The numlier of eggs was 

 usually four ; in no instance more, but occasionally three or two. The parent bird 



