11 





i 



202 



I'U.KCiMlAI, liKAM.AToKKS ~ MMFCkL.E. 



Thi.-. l)ii(l rctiiTs to tlir soiitli Iniij,' iM't'ort' tlu' fmsts lM'<,'in; still, it lias lK>t>n met 

 with as tar iinrtli as latitmlc "I ."ill'. 



This (iodwit — .Mr. i'loanliiiaii tells me — is t'oiind in the lu'ijjlihnihood of Calais. 

 Me., hut is there (piite rare, lie was iutdrmed that a lew oeeur in the siiinnier on 

 I'rinee Kdward's Island, where the spoeies is sii|i|insed to breed, and where it has hecn 

 olitaini'd in its lirfi'din,t,'-i)lnina,Lre. 



.Mr. Knss nieiititiiis this liii'd as occurriiit,' — althnu^li rarely — on the Muekeazie ; 

 and .Mr. .Murray and Captain ISlakiston both proenred it on Hudson's Itay. 



< >n lliei'oast oi' .Massaelnisetts it is (d' very irre<.;ular appesiranee — at least as to 

 nundicrs — brin^' in some seasons very eommon. It is stated ity .Mr. II. \. I'nrdie to 

 have been (piite abundant on the New Knt,'land coast in the fall t>[ IS?.'!. A sIukI'' 

 specimen was obtained at Kastham, Nov. .■>, ISTS. by Mr. Frank II. Tileston. 



This species, in its nuLrrations in sprini; and fall, also visits the interior lakes and 

 rivers. It is a re^iular visitant at Lake Koskonon^'. Wisconsin, where, as .Mr. Knui- 

 lieii iid'orms nn-. it a])peared as early as August l."». in IS7.">. Mr. .Nel.son cites it as a 

 not rare nii;;rant in Northern Illinois, where it comes in .\pril and reajiiiears in 

 October. 



According,' to IJichiird.sou, this species breeds abundantly on the Barren (!round 

 near the Arctic Sea, where it feeds on insects and shelly molbisca, whiidi it obtains in 

 the small sphafrnons lakes. In all its manners and habits it is similar to the (iroiit 

 .Marbled Cod wit. 



Aceordinj; to Ciiruud. this bird is nn-t with on the .sliores of Lon^' Island, where, 

 however, it is not so |>lentifnl as the Marbled Codwit. It is known to the hunters 

 of that island as the •• i;inj,'-tailed .Marlin," and is so called from the white band 

 crossinfi the tail-feathers. .V few are shot every .seasiHi on those shores, and some 

 arc also procured on the more eastern .sean-oast. (liraiid adds that it is by no means 

 a rare bird in the Middle States, thon^di not abundant. In its liabits he regards it as 

 nearly allied with x\u' jh/on, with which it .sonuMinu's associates. 



This species apjiears to have e.scaped the notice of Wilson, and to have been bin 

 very imperfectly known either to .\ndubon or ti> Nnttall. The latter considered it an 

 inlreipu'iit visitor to the Kastern and Mi(Ulh' States, and conjectured that it mii,dit 

 be more conunon on our northwestern coast; but this is (piite problematical. Two 

 specimens only are recorded by .Mr. Dall as having been taken near the mouth ol 

 the Yukon liiver. With this exception, none of our own exjilorers nnuition its occur- 

 rence (ui the I 'acilic shores. .Mr. Dall regarde<l it as cpiite rare on the Yukon. Mr. 

 E. Adams, however, met with it in Alaska, on the coast of Norton Sound, where, as 

 he states (•• Ibis," 187S), a b'W of these birds fretpiented the marshes on the river- 

 banks, to which they exclusividy contined them.selves. living u]ion the worms fomid 

 there in abundance. The first seen were feeding in sonn- shallow pools, on the L'lst 

 of May. He afterward met with the sanu' species at I'ort Clarence. 



Nuttall did not see more than two or three )>airs in the course of a season. These 

 were found on the neighboring coast, near ISoston, and were called the "(loose Mini." 

 One pair, obtained about September S, were very fat and wtdl-tiavored, and had been 

 feeding ufi. ■ f'fru and other vegetable matter. He noticed this species in the 

 Boston market from the (ilh to the .'iOth of Septendier. 



Audubon regarded this as a very rare species antl unknown along the coast south 

 of Maryland. He first met with it in Septeudter, IS.'JH, in the Hoston market, lb 

 afterward received specimens from I'icton, N. S. ; and on his way to Labra<lor, was 

 informed by the inhabitants of the Magdalen Islands that this species breeds in the 

 marshes at the extremity of the principal island. He met with none in Labrador or 



