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342 



PU-K(;()("IAIi (JI{AI,r,AT(»RKS — LIMICOL.E. 



in Salt Lako Valley, and to tho north as tar as the Saskatclipwan Kiver. Exaniiilcs 

 were procured at Tort liiw l)y Mr. Clarkt". at I'ort Ivcsolution l>y .Mr. Ijockhart, and 

 on I'oiivv liivcr by Mr. Kos.s. 



Mr. Salvin nu't with it in ditt'eront ])art8 of (Jiiatoniala, tindin^ it conunon at Cliia- 

 pani and about the n('ij,'lib()rin},' lagoons on tlu' racitic coast. Tliu liirds of this spt^cifs 

 which he saw did not have tlie rust-colored necks and heads of nortliern si)ecinieu.s, 

 but all were white in these jiarts. 



Oidy a single excanijjh? is known to have been taken as far to the northeast a» Point 

 Lei)reanx, on the l>iiy of Fundy. and it is a very rare bird in New Kngland. Mr. 

 Hoss speaks of it as licing very rare on the Mackenzie. Captain Ulakiston met with 

 it on the shores of the shallow lakea in the ^'alley of the Saskatchewan, where la- 

 found it feeding on insects and small fresh-water crustacea. llichardson gives a 

 similar account of this liird, having d'ound its stomach tilled with fragnn-nts of 

 Crustacea and gravel. Jle sjieaks of it as lieing very noisy, uttering cries of distress. 

 and flying al)out the heads of those who invade its haunt.s. 



In Utah it is generally known as the " White Snipe," and was there met witli liy 

 !Mr. Allen, esi)ecially in Salt Lake Valley. In September it was still very abundant, 

 and was regarch'd as being highly characteristic of that region, where it was one ol 

 the most common .summer residents, breeding (m the shores and islands of the laisc 

 Flocks of many thousands of this s])ecies were seen at the mouth of the Weber IJivir. 

 Mr. Uidgway also found it abundant in spring and summer about the numerous alka- 

 line ponds and lakes of the Great Hasin, breeding in those localities in company witli 

 the Stilt (IlhiHiiifo/iiiti itii'.firdHits). 



Mr. Henshaw also mentions it as a common sumnu'r resident in Utah and Cdln- 

 rado, and as still more abundant during the migrations. It lives in summer on tin- 

 borders of .all the lakes and jtonds of any considerable size. In seeking food it resorts 

 to the water itself, and not to marshes or bogs. Its long legs are specially adapted to 

 the purposes of wading, and its elongated bill and neck allow it to jiick up the insects 

 on the bottom of the shallow j)ools, or the larviK that are swinnuing about. Where 

 it has not bei-n molested it is i)erfe('tly tanu' and unsuspicious, and contimii>s its 

 graceful motions with entire unconcern while subjected to a close scrutiny. 15ut in 

 parts of Utah it had learned to dread man as its enemy, and baffled all his efforts. 

 On the 21st of Jinie it was found in great nund)ers on some alkaline lakes northwest 

 of Fort Garland, in Southern Colorado. As Mr. Henshaw visited one pond alter 

 another, he was met everywhere by troops of the old birds, which flew in wide circles 

 about his head, while the shores resounded with their harsh cries. He shot several ; 

 but the others still contiimed their nuuueuvrings, merely wideinng their course. The 

 death of their companions seemed to excite little apprehension, although they ocia- 

 sionally flew close to the body of one which had fallen, or alighted beside it, as if 

 trying to comprehend its fate. Where the water wa- sutticiently deep to allow nt' 

 swimming, they alighted freely on the surface, and moved bueyantly about in a 

 graceful and pleasing manner. The crops of those examined were filled with the 

 larvip of some water insect. A single set of four eggs was found, placed in a sliglit 

 hollow made for the purpose, and lined with weeda. 



Mr. Moore met with a single individual of this species in Florida. It was alone, 

 standing on a sand-spit in a bay near the sea. Its diet had been exclusively fish, 

 sixteen of which were within the throat and oesophagus, and no other food was found. 

 The fish were from seven to fifteen sixteenths of an inch in length. 



On Long Island Giraud found this species less frequent than the Stilt, and not 

 generally known to hunters. It frequented shallow pools in the salt-marshes, and 



