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Pll.ECOCIAL GHALLATOKES — LIMICOL.E. 



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The history of tlu' luibits aiul iiianner of life of the Bonaparte Sandpiper is still 

 Init inipt'rfc'ctly known, and tlic entire ranj,'e of its distribntion is, without donhi. 

 very far from liav'Mg been fully ascertained. On tlie Atlantie eoast and, to a eertain 

 extent, in tiie interior, it is a migratory visitant, botii in the sjiring and in the i'lill. 

 During the season of reproduetion it visits liigh Arctic regions, is known to breed in 

 the vicinity of the Arctic coast, and is given by Heinhardt as one of the birds of 

 (Jreenland. It is stated by llolbiiU to breed near .Juliauehaab, where small Hocks 

 of old and young were observed by him in August. A very young bird was obtained 

 at Nenortalik in If^.'Jo, another in 1840. and three others in l!S41. 



It is also said to occur and to Itreed in the extreme southern ])ortions of Sontli 

 America, and to visit tiie Falkland Islands. During its autumnal nngrations it is 

 found in Bermuda, where Major Wedderburn nu't with it in the fall, and where it 

 was in company with A. iiKiriihitn. 



In .Massachusetts it also occurs, but is not a very common bird. ftfr. "William ]>rews- 

 ter informs me that in this State, according to his observations, it is not abundant, 

 although its visits are constant, uniform, and regular. It i)asses north in May, and 

 reap])ears in its southern migr.ition as early as tiie L'Oth of -hily. It has a very 

 peculiar note, unlike tliat of any other Sandpiper, which is not in any sense a whist- 

 ling, but is a low lisiiing stmnd, and almost the only cry of a shore-bird which is 

 neither mellow nor whistling. When disturbed, it moves (piickly off, repeating tiiis 

 rather low note, which, however, is always distinctly audible above that of the small 

 Truujir with which it associates. 



According to ('ai)tain C ('. Abbott, this little Sandpiper makes its appearance in 

 the summer on the Falkland Islands, and is known tt) breed on J'^ast Falkland, lie 

 met with the y(niiig birds. l)ut was not al)le to find their nests. Mr. H. Durnford 

 also, in his Notes on the Birds of Central Patagonia, speaks of this s])ecies as resident. 

 lie found it very common in the valleys of both the Sengtd and the Sengelen, and 

 always in flocks. 



This species, once confounded with distinct European species, was supposed to 

 have a more cosmopolitan distribution than it is now credited with. At present it 

 is thought to be coiiKiied to the .Vmerican continent, occurring along the entire 

 Atlantic sea-coast, and to be met with more sparingly on the banks of interior rivers 

 and lakes. 



On Long Island, according to (Jirand. it is not a very plentiful species, having 

 never been observed by him in large Hocks, although during his excursions he fre- 

 quently met with small parties distributed along the margins of creeks and pools, 

 feeding in company with tiie Semi])almated Sandi)iper, from which it can always lie 

 distinguished by its superior size. It is described as being more watchful than that 

 species, seeming to be more alarmed at the report of a gun, and usually flying to a 

 greater distance. It seldom revisits the place from which it has been driven, althougli 

 its less timid companion always returns immediately to its feeding-grounds, seemingly 

 as unconcerned as Ixsfore its flight. jMr. Criraud also states that he has met with this 

 species along the banks of the Hudson River near Toughkeepsie, and on the margins 

 of ponds in the interior counties of Xew V'ork. 



Itichardson states that he found this species not unfrequent on the shores of the 

 small lakes which skirt the Saskatchewan I'lains. Air. Audubon met with it at differ- 

 ent times in Kentucky, and along the Atlantic shores from Florida to Maine. In the 

 United States he observed it only in the latter part of autumn and in the winter. 

 He procured examides in Labrador at the beginning of August, which were all young 

 birds about to take their departure. He secured also specimeua at St. Augustiiu'. 



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