n 



I : 



; J 



i:: 



210 



?Ri*:COCIAL (IKALLATdUKS - I.IMICOLJ-:. 



Mr. MaeFarlane writes: "The nt'st from wliicli thfso t'^^gs wore taken was situated 

 iM'twccn two small lirackish lakes near tin- sea-short'. One of our i)arty saw the 

 female get off; ami when the iiest was approacheil by liim she littered a shrill note 

 of alarm. After searching about for a few minutes, ho faih'd to tind the eggs; and 

 he then determined to hide himself, and from his concealment ascertain whert^ the 

 female would alight on her return. In a short time she was seen to return, accom- 

 panied by three comi»anions, all of whom looked and moved alxiut; but not discover- 

 ing anything, seemed to hold a brief consultation, after which they separated, tlir 

 female to her nest. Another search failed to discover the eggs; and the female again 

 retui'ned with the same birds, who appeared to be in a state of great excitenuMit. 

 judging from the chattering they kept up. After a while they again .separated; when 

 the nest was found, and the parent secured. The report of the gun brought the 

 others once nuire to the spot; but they beat a hasty retreat. The nest was a mere 

 depression in the midst of some hay. and lined with the same and a few withered 

 leaves." 



The eggs of this s]»eeies exhibit great variations in their appearance, in eonstt- 

 (pienee of the ditt'erinees in the size, the manner of distribution, and the nund)er of 

 the s2)ots. The ground is a light drab, and the markings are of a pure bright sejjia. 

 In one set (S. I. No. llL'7-) of four eggs, the nest — a mere depression in the gnmnd. 

 on the border of a small lake in the midst of nuirshy ground — was lined with with- 

 ered grasses. In this set the markings are large, iironounced, and distinct, sparsely 

 distributed around the smaller end, and nu>re nunu'rous and occasionally confluent 

 about the obtuse end. They are ])yriform in shape, and the suuiUer end is very 

 sharply defined. They average l.L'i") inches in length, by ..S() in breadth. Aiuither set 

 (No. 11271) of four eggs in a nest fo\iiid placed between two small lakes, and lined 

 with witlau'ed grasses and leaves, was obtained in the Barren ({rounds, near Fort 

 Aiulerson. Tn these eggs the sjiots are much finer. nu)re numerous about the smaller 

 end, and there very tine, a little larger and inmv confluent about the larger extrendty. 

 and nearly concealing the grayish white or light drab-colored ground. These meas- 

 ure l.lo iiu'hes by .80. Four eggs (Xo. 11273) foiiiul on an island in Franklin Bay, 

 July 4, have nuvrkings still more nunute and numerous, universally ditt'used, and 

 more or less confluent over the entire egg, concealing the ground, and having ajjpar- 

 ently very little resemblance to Xo. 11272. Four eggs (Xo. 17041) were found by 

 Mr. L. M. Turner, May 28, 1874. at St. Michael's. Their ground-color is a light 

 grayish buff, thickly spotted with reddish sepia and darker sepia, chiefly on the 

 larger end. Their measurements are as follows: 1.2(» by .80 inches; 1.25 by .85; 

 1.25 by .90 ; 1.25 by .85. 



Genus TRINGA, Linn^us. 



Tririga, Linn. S. N. ed. 10, 1758, 148 ; t;(l. 12, 1766, 247 (type T. canutus, Linn.). 



Char. Body robust ; bill and legs short, the fonncr straigiit, widened terminally, and scarcely 

 longer than the head ; tarsus about e([ual to the liill, or a little shorter ; middle toe about two 

 thirds the tarsus. Wings long and pointed, reaching beyond the end of the tail. 



The above characters separate at once this genus from Arquatdla, the one most nearly related, 

 but which 1ms the bill much more compressed, slightly but decidedly dijcurved towai-d the end, 

 and much longer than the tarsus ; the latter scarcely, if any, longer than the middle toe ; the 

 wings shorter, etc. The single species T. canutus is the largest of American Sandpipers, and among 

 the largest known species of this group ; only one, the Arqutttella crassirostris (Temm. & Schleg.) 

 of Eastern Asia exceeding it in size. 



ill 



I iffii 



