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334 



riLWDClAl. Ull.VM.AioUKM— LIMIC<»I,.K. 



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iiiid miiiit. Tliis N|M>picH is iiitr(><iu*>nt in tlic iiiiildli- dirttrirt, ami is rart>ly mM>ti nuiiiIi 

 ttf Ni'w N'ork. (liiuiid Htativs. ou tiir aiitimrits (d' I'lidcssm- Ituird, that, cxaiiiidcs n| 

 tlds l'lialiir<)|ii> have twiir Ihtii tai<cii near CailiHlf, I'a. 



S(ii'(Miiifii.s III this I'liaiai'Dpf arc urcasiinialiv tai<*'it iu>ai' ItoHtnii, as \vt II as on 

 various iitlici' |Mii'liniis id' tin' New I'ai^daiid cuasl ; ixit it dnrs not a|i|ii'ar to lit- loin 

 iiioii oil ui' iii'ai' till' laiiil. It also orriiis as au irii'^idai ami iidi'n|ii<'iit laiKiaiit, Imili 

 in Hpi'iiiK and tall, near l<akt> KoskonouK, 



A small tlmk of tiii'Sf liirds was sfi-n on tlic west coast of (liccnlaml. in latitmli' 

 7\'\ in .lane, on Tarn's first vova.uc ; and I{oss, in the Appendix to the "'I'hird Vny. 

 ap'." nicniions thai a small tlock alighted under the lec ol the ship daring' a stniie^r 

 hrceze, and were so tearless as to approach within a lew yards, feeding,' on siii;il| 

 Hhrimps, which were seen in ;,'rcatr nnndicis. At that time the ship was at least si\i\ 

 ndles Irom the nearest land. These birds were alterward lonml hrecdin;,' on the 

 AVhalcHsh Islands; lait noiu' were m'cii after h-uviiiK (irccniand. 



According' to the ohservations of Mr. I,. Knndien, this species arrives in Cnndier- 

 land in thine in lar^e flocks, but is not so ciuiimoii HHfii/i'itirtus ; and he states lli;it 

 lie has seen the htlmtiin as far south and farther north, and nearly as far trnin 

 land as that Hpecics ; hut this is true only of a few individuals. It seems more IhihI 

 of the shore, hreedinj,' |)lentiliilly on the islands in Disco liay. It is less hic^m- 

 riou.s than_/W//'/n'//M, and prefers small hays to the open sea. This bird ali^;hts eii 

 till! drift-ice, and feeds by juiiipinj,' into the water after food, where the /»///>(*/•/».« 

 Would have aliKhtt'd in the water in the first jilace. 



From the ilcniidcd condition of the breasts of the males id' this species which have 

 been taken diiiiiif^ the breediii<,'-season, there is ^'ood rciison to believe that, like ihe 

 Wilson's I'lialaropc, the males id' this spci'ies do their full share of tin' labors nf 

 iiiculiatioii. 



Mr. Elliott found a few stray couples brpcding upon the I'rybihd' Islands, nest in;,' 

 around the margins of the ponds; and he secured several newly hatched young binls, 

 whiidi were very jji-etty and interesting. The down of the head, neck, and upiier 

 ])arts is a rich brownisli ytdlow. variegated with i)row'nish black, the crown being nj 

 this color mi.xed with yellow, with a long stri[)e extending down the back, flanked 

 with one over isieli hip, another across the rump, and a shoulder-spot on eaidi sidr. 

 The under i)arts are grayish silvery white. When startled or solicitous I'lU' the saldy 

 of its young, the parent bird utters a succession of sonorous tweets, (juickly repeated, 

 with long intervals of silence. 



Mr. Audubon, who found birds of this species quite lunnevous in the I?ay of Fuiidy, 

 and afterward met with them in Labrador, regarded them as being somewhat shy. 

 They procured their food on the water, on which they alight like Ducks, and tloat 

 with all the buoyancy of a CJull. They walk about upon masses of Boating seaweed 

 as unconcernedly as if on land. Their notes are said to resemble the syllables tinrt- 

 tirret-tivevf, and are sliari> and clear. Their flight is like that of the Common .'^nip|■. 

 At the approach of an enemy they close u]» their ranks and fly in a body, so that num- 

 bers may be killed at one shot. Audubon has met with these l)irds in Uirge flocks at 

 a distance of more than a hundred miles from land. 



In Labrador this Phalarope occurred only in small parties of a few pair, .and were 

 always iii the immediate vicinity of fresh-water ponds, near which they breed. Tlieii' 

 nest is descrilied as a hollow scooped out among the herbage, lined with a few bits el 

 dry grass and moss. The eggs were always four, are said to average 1.1!) inches li,\ 

 .88, to be pointed at the smaller end, and with the ground-color of a deep dull bull. 

 irregularly marked with blotches of a dark reddish brown. The birds showed great 



