■I" ii' 



i, ^' fl 



; 



308 



PR.FCOCIAL GRALLATOHKS — LIMICOL.E. 



taken ; this was near Chicago, Sfpt. 4, lcS73. Dr, Hoy spcakH of it as coinmon near 

 Kaeine from Seittember 1"» to October 10; Init this statement Mr. Nelson seeuis 

 disposed to question. 



Mr. Dall mentions tliat two s)»eeimens of this Sandpiper were obtained on the 

 Yukon, l)eh)w Nulato, where it was not common. One was obtained at Sitka Ity 

 Bisclioff. 



It breeds .abiuuhmtly in tiie An(h'rs()n Iviver region, where a number of its nests 

 and eggs were fomid by ^Mr. MacFarlane ; and from Ills memoranda in reference to 

 tlie nests and eggs of this si)eeies in ujiward of twenty instant^es, we gather tliat tlic 

 nest is always on the ground, .lud hardly distinguishable from that of the (ioldcn 

 I'lover, being a mere depression in the soil, scantily lined with a few withered leaves 

 and dried grasses. These nests were all obtaint-d on the Uarren Grounds between 

 Horton's River and the coast, l)etween the li()th of .luiu' and the *.>th of .Tidy. Tlic 

 eggs in every instance were four in number. Even in .July the endtryos were not far 

 advanced. When the nest was apjiroaclied, the female usually made a short low 

 flight to a distance of about twelve yards. 



The eggs of this species are conspicuously pyriform in shape, and measure 1.")! 

 inches 'n length by 1.10 in the greatest breadth. So far as 1 have noticed them, 

 however much the; nuiy vary in certain minor respects, they all i)resent a renmrkalile 

 uniformity in their general characteristics and appearance. Their ground-color is 

 unifonnly an ashy drab, over which are prcdiisely sjjread rounded markings, splasln^s, 

 and confluent blotches of deej) sepia. The markings are smaller and more rounded 

 in shaj)e around the smaller end, and larger and more confluent about tlic other. The 

 sepia tint is (piite luiiform, and the deeper markings i-re mingled with washes dl 

 dilute iiurplish slate. These nmrkings vary in tin ir shape, size, and character, being 

 in some large splashes, and in others longitudinal, as if nmde by strokes of a i)aint- 

 brush. The eggs described are in my own cabinet, and were taken by MacFarlaue 

 on the Arctic coast east of Anderson lUver (No. 180.'5). 



Genis EURYNORHYNCHUS, Nilsson. 



Euryiun-htjnchus,^ XiLss. Oni. Siiuc. 11. 1821, 29 (type, Plataka pygmcea, Linn.). 



EurynorhjmchuB pygmseus. 



THE SFOON-BILLED SANDPIPER. 



Platalea pygmcea, Uss. S. N. ed. 10, I. 17.'>8, 140; oil. 12, I. 1766,231 (" Surinnin "). — Gmf.i,. S. 



N I. 1788, 615 (.[uotes "Mus. Ad. Fr. 26. BainT. Guj. 171. Dwarf Spoonbill, Lath. Syii. IV. 



i. \ 17,11. 3"). 

 Euryhorhynchiispii(j.i\a:us,Vv.\\\i^uy.,io\\\: As. Soo. Bciig. V. 1836, 127. — Hakting, Ibis, ISOii, 



427, 111. 12 (critical, with full syiionyiiiy ; Clioiis PiMiiiisnla, Alaska) ; P. Z. S. 1879, 111, 111 



(same loi'.). — CorKs, Clicck List, 2(1 cd. 1882, 136, no. 884. 

 Eurinwhynchus piigmmcs, Ouav, lIaiid-1. III. 1871, 51. — Ridc.w. Xoiii. N. Am. B. 1881, 85, no. 



642 (Point Bnriow, Alaska). — Bean, Proci, U. S. Nat. Mus. V. 1882, 165 (i'lover Bay, 



Siberia). 

 Eurynorhynchvs griseua, "Nn.ss." Tejim. Man. cd. 2, 11. 1820, 594. 

 Eurynorhynchus oriciitalis, Bi.yth, Ann. Mag. N. 11. Xlll. 1844, 178, 179. 



1 This name has lieen variously spelled Eurinorhynchus, Enrinoryncm, Eurinorinchus, Eurhinorhiin- 

 chtis, Eurinorincus, etc., but the forni given above is the trao orthography. Seo " The Ibis," 1869, p. 427 

 (footnote). 



