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244 



PR.1X"(X.'IAL GRALLATOUES — LIMICOL^. 



aiul oil the coast of Davis Strait. Kiolianlson states tliat ifc is abtindr.nt, and that 

 it breeds on tin- An-ti«- coast of America. Jle also met with it on the Saskatchewan 

 I'hiin in its iKt-ssaj^i' north, and in autumn on the shores of Hudson's J5ay. He 

 descri\»es its ejj}?» as liaving a ground of an oil-greeu marked with irreguhir spots of 

 liver-brown, of difftTcnt aiws and shades, confluent at the obtuse end. The eggs are 

 saiil to Ix; 1.1^8 inches long, and to measure .UG of an inch where broadest, the ends 

 differing greatly in si»'. 



Mr. J. A. Allen niention.s finding this sjn'cies in the eastern portion of Kansas in 

 the earlier jKirt of 3Iay. It wa.s cpiite abundant in the neigldxirluiod of lag- ')ns. 

 Later — (hiring the .s4-eond week of August — lie again met witii others of this spe- 

 cies at Lake I'a.<w in CoKirado. In the following September he again found it ipiite 

 common in tlie Valley i.f (Jreat Salt Lake. JNIr. IJiclgway states that an individiud 

 of tliis sja'cies was shut by one of his party in ilay on an alkaline imjiuI near Tyramid 

 Lake. 



iMr. Iioardman informs its that this sjiecies occurs, in spring and fall, in the neigh- 

 borhood of Calais, but lie do<'s not think tliat it is ever abundant. Jt eoines to Massa- 

 chusetts from the north in ih-UAn'V, ami remains into November, and is then (juitt; 

 common on the ccxi.st. lu its spring migrations it jtasses north late in May. Un Long 

 Island this s|>«'eie!* is known Itoth iis tiie IJed-liacked Sandi)iiier and as the iShuk- 

 breast. According to Ijiraud, it arrives on the shores of Long Island in the month 

 of April, but so«»ii Ii-:ives and pa.sses north, returning in Sejitember, at which time it 

 is cpiite abundant there, and still more so on the coast of >»ew Jersey. 



This siK'cies a.-4.s<j«i-iates in HiK-ks, fre(|ueiitiiig the sliores, sandbars, and muddy 

 Hats, feeding on worms an<I such minute shellfish as abound in localities of this 

 kind. In the month of <A-t<»lM'r it is usually very fat, and is considered excellent 

 cjting. The autumnal plunuige is so entirely dift'erent from thi^ vernal that by hun- 

 ters this bird is generally regarded at those seasons as re|)resentiiig two different 

 species. The same thing was once true of the Kuroi)(>an form, the i»limiage of those 

 two seasons Ijeing mt unlike as not only to deceive siiortsnii'ii, but even ornitholo- 

 gists; hence the common names of Dunlin and Purre. and the two scientific terms 

 alpiita and ilnrlu*. ISy Ininters generally — both in New England and along the 

 shores of Long Island and New Jersey — the autumnal form is known as the 

 '•Winter Sniix-." In this plumage it closely resemldes the winter dress of the Cur- 

 lew Sandpii)er. During the autumn the Ked-backi-d Samlpii»er may Ix; found, both 

 on sandy and on muddy shores, along the whole of our central Atlantic coast. It 

 is said to lie a restl«-s«, active bird, gleaning its food with great (U-xterity, and .seeming 

 to Ih! ever desirous of clianging its position. Soon after alighting, the Hock collects 

 together, making short excursions over the water, and again settling down at but a 

 short distance from the sjiot from which they had only just Hown. These birds usually 

 crowd so closely t«»gether when whirling about in these excursions, that many may 

 be killed at a .singh- -shot. Mr. (iiraud mentions that on one occasion no less than 

 Hfty-two were kiU«*«l by the discharge of lK)th barrels of a gun into a Hock. This 

 is an unusual numlier; but the killing of ten or twelve at a time is said to be not an 

 uncommon thing. 



On the slior(>s of the Atlantic, south of Chesapeake Bay, this species is very abun- 

 dant in its s|>ring migrations, comipg late in April and noi leaving until nearly 

 the end of May. In ^<<•pt4•ml»er it reappears, a ])ortion remaining throughout the 

 winter. Many of tlies<" binls as^ume their spring plumage before they leave ; proba- 

 bly the greater numiier of them do so. In their habits they are more like the 

 maculnta than the other Tringa; and are ranked as Snipe by the hunters, from their 



