26 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA [No. i. 



Totanus flavipcs (Gmel.). 

 Yellow- LEGS. 



This proved to be a common bird in the Kowak Valley. Its arrival was noted 

 in the vicinity of our winter camp on May 19th, and from that day on its presence 

 could hardly be overlooked, for as one approached their domains the Yellow-legs 

 would fly to meet him, uttering prolonged, monotonous cries. Besides these notes 

 of alarm the males had a full, melodious warble, sung for minutes at a time as they 

 flew slowly about overhead. Their favorite haunts appeared to be the meadows 

 lying between strips of timber, especially if there was a shallow lake or pond in 

 the vicinity. I do not think the Yellow-legs had begun incubation up to June 6th, 

 for previously to this date I took special care to watch the birds at frequent inter- 

 vals. I -saw the Yellow-legs twice in June between belts of timber in the delta of 

 the Kowak, but it was not detected anywhere on the coast. 



Hclodromas solitariiis (Wils.). 

 Solitary Sandpiper. 



The Solitary Sandpiper was fovmd only in the vicinity of spruce timber in 

 the Kowak Valley. Its arrival in the neighborhood of our winter camp was on 

 the i8th of May, and it soon after became common. The particular haunts of 

 this interesting bird were the margins of secluded ponds situated among the 

 densest spruce woods. In such a place I would find a pair of Solitary Sandpipers 

 silently but busily engaged in searching for their food through the grass at the 

 edge of the water. They would allow of my close approach if quiet without 

 exhibiting the least concern. If alarmed they would take flight for a short dis- 

 tance, uttering a few sharp 'peeps.' Sometimes I would discern one of the pair 

 perching quietly at the top of a small spruce or fallen branch near the pond, while 

 the other was on the ground occupied as before. The song-flight of this species is 

 mostly indulged in during the early morning hours. This consists of a slow cir- 

 cuitous flight on rapidly beating wings high over the tree tops, accompanied by 

 the frequent repetition of a weak song somewhat resembling the call of a sparrow- 

 hawk. At the close - of this song-flight the bird alights, as if exhausted, and 

 perches silently for some time at the top of the tallest spruce in the vicinity. 

 During the performance of the male, the female may be seen feeding around 

 some grassy pool beneath, from all appearances entirely unmindful of the ecstatic 

 efforts of her mate. On June 6th, while taking a walk through the woods around 

 our winter cabin for the last time before leaving this place, I visited the haunts of 

 a pair of Solitary Sandpipers which I had been watching nearly every day since 

 their arrival. Search as I would high and low, I could find but one of the birds, 

 and I therefore supposed that the other bird must be incubating somewhere, but 

 I could discover no trace of a nest, and the remaining bird was very unconcerned. 

 I even examined the old Varied Thrushes' nests in the surrounding spruces, 

 though I think if there were a nest, it was somewhere in the grass of the narrow 

 strip of meadow near by. How I deplored leaving our winter home where I 

 had become familiar with the haunts of the different birds! And to leave it too 

 just at this most interesting season! About the middle of June I heard several 

 times the notes of the Solitary Sandpiper in the timber tracts of the Kowak delta, 

 but it was not noted on the seacoast. 



