SCOLOPACID.R — THE SNIPK FAMILY — PELIDNA. 



243 



mage, till! tbrt'i' speciiiiPiis bifipic us IVom Kitioiiu an- dcciilfclly loiter iwli, and «|uite (listinclly 

 siiviikL'il almvu. A ,yi>uiin I'inl tVom llmij^aiy is iniioh li-st* distinctly spotted iK-ncath than one 

 I'luni Alaska (the only iinu'rican cxainiilc in this pltinia;,'i! wi; art; abh; to conipare it with), hut is 

 (■lluTwise very similar. Tlic (lilh'ii'iiffs Iwlwccn the true P. ti/pina and the American race appear 

 t(i he (piite constant, hein;,' vurilied hy all wiilcis who have made actual coniparison of specimens. 

 Mr. J. K. Hartin;,', who has made the Liiniwln' a special study, and who is therefore the best 

 iiiitlicirily on this j^Touit of biixls, f,'ives his views rej,'anlin^' these representative forms as follows 

 (r(. V. Z. S. IHTI.p. 11.-.):-- 



"On comparing' a specimen finm Ni^w Jersey, in lull summer iilnmaj,'e, with one which was 

 shot off the nest in iJenbecuhi (Hebrides), not oidy are the dilferences pointed out liy Prof. IJaird 

 ii|i|iarent, but it is also oliservabh- that the upper portions of the ]iliima;{e in the American bird 

 are considerably pervaile.l by brij^ht rufous-brown, whereas in the wime parts of the .Scottish 

 liinl black is the prevailing,' color. Further, the black of the under parts, which in the Scottish 

 liiril e.vtends (as in Sqmttiirnlii hilvcliin) from the vent almost to the chin, is confined in the Anieri- 

 ( an biril (as in Eudrominn Mnrinilhis) to the belly oidy. Whether this hir;,'e race of Dunlin, known 

 as Triiiija iimericana, is sjiecitically distiiu't or not, it is not conlined to Anu-rica, as is generally 

 siijiposed. I have specimens in winter jdumage now before nie jirociu'ecl by ^[r. Swinhw; at Anioy, 

 and (ilhers in autumnal pluniaj,'e shot by myself in this country, which, as rcfjaitls me.isureme'.its 

 (if bill, win>,', ami tarsus, correspond in every way with examples from New Jersey. They differ 

 (inly in color, having; been obtaine(l at different seasons of the year. As far as I can jud(,'e by the 

 (lata before me, the smaller liird ap])ears to have a more restricted ranj,'e, and remains to nest in 

 tliis c(nintry ; while the laiv'er bird does not lireeil with us, but is found on our coasts in spriu},' 

 and autumn, during; the mif,'ration." 



i 



This form, so closely alliod to tlif (Joiiniioii Dunlin or Purrp of Enroix', lias a wide 

 (listrilnition over the coiitiiioiit of \ortli Amorica. It is found in high Arctic regions, 

 and on the shores of the Atlantic, i'acilic, ami Arctic oceans. ^Ir. Dall states that it 

 was seen frequently at St. .Miidiael's by Mr. Uaiiiiister. and in IJritish Colnnibia by ^Ir. 

 Klliott. .\ number of specimens were ol tained at Sitka by Hischoff. ^Ir. Dall also 

 met witli it at Nulato, where it was not iincomnion ; and it was also abiuulant at 

 tlie UKMitli of the Yukon, wlicre an exaiujile of its egg was obtained. Its nest is .said 

 to lie like that of the Lofn'jir^t /ii/pi'r/iorriis. .Mr. \l. Mrowiie also includes it among 

 till' birds of Vancouver Island. Dr. Cooper is of opinion that it never goes farther 

 (111 the Californian coast than San Francisco, as he has iu)t met with it on the coast 

 to the south of that place. This bird is, however, very common toward the north from 

 October to May, freipienting (diiefly the sandy bars about bay.s. but not going far into 

 the interior. It is .seen in very large Hocks, .sometimes associating with the other 

 small Sandpipers, from which it is not usually distiiigiiished by hunters. 



The American Dunlin — the C/u'v-oo-me-nok of the Escpiimaux — is cited by Mr. E. 

 .\dams (" Ibi.s," 1.S7H) as one of the birds (diserved by him on the shores of Norton 

 Sound, where a few of this species fre(pieiitcd the salt-marsh together with Hocks of 

 AitmlroiiviH mbnitUln. They built their ne.sts — which consisti'd merely of a few dry 

 leaves scraped into a slight hollow — on the liigher ground surrounding the marsh, 

 and were very olten hovering over thein and singing a low twittering song. The 

 eygs — f(mr in numlH'r — are described as marked with large spots of three sluides of 

 Inown upon a light olive-green grt)nnd. principally about the larger end. The small 

 ciids were always placed together in the nest, as is the case with all the Waders. 



The Dunlin is iiududed by Kcinhardt amcmg the birds of (Jreenland, where the 

 luirojiean species is known to have been taken ; and it may be to this that the Green- 

 land examples belong. I'rofessor Xewton states that Dr. Tanlsen more than once 

 received this species from (ireenland, both in the imnuitnre and in the autumnal plu- 

 mage. It probably breeds there, as it is also known to do on Melville Peninsula 



