1S84-J Nklson 0)1 the Pectoral Suiidpiper. 210 



extremely common at the mouth of the Yukon River, wlierc the 

 low grassy Hats atVord it a mucii frequentcci breeding ground. 



It arrives on the shores of Bering's Sea, near St. Michael's, 

 from the 15th to the 35th of May, and, after lingering aliout wet 

 spots where the green herbage just begins to show among the 

 universal browns of the tundra, tliev jiair and seek nesting places. 

 It is a common but never very abundant bird near St. Michael's 

 during both migrations, but it is rare .there in the breeding 

 season. This is difficult to accoimt for, as the bird is extremely 

 common at the latter period on the low flat islands in the Yukon 

 Delta not far to the south, and it is also common at other points 

 on the coast. Dall foimd it at Plover Bay, East Siberia, and I 

 found it common on the north coast of Siberia, the last of July, 

 iSSi, where, like the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, it was evidently 

 upon its breeding ground. Flocks of these Sandpipers arrive on 

 the east coast of Bering's Sea before the ground is entirely free 

 from snow, and during September, in company with A. acn- 

 ininata^ are numerous about small brackish pools and the banks 

 of tide creeks. October, \vith its frosty nights and raw unpleas- 

 ant days, soon thins their ranks, until by the loth or i3th the last 

 one has gone. 



The last of May, 1879, I pitched my tent on a loneh^ island in 

 the Yukon Delta and passed the several following v^^eeks in 

 almost continual physical discomfort, owing to the rain and 

 snowstorms which prevailed ; however, I look back with 

 pleasure upon the time passed here among the various waterfowh 

 when every day contributed new and strange scenes to mv pre 

 vious experience. 



The night of May 24 I lay wrapped in m}- blanket, and from 

 under the raised flap of the teut looked out over as dreary a 

 cloud-covered landscape as can be imagined. The silence was 

 unbroken save by the tinkle and clinking of the disintegrating ice 

 in the rivers, and at intervals by the wild notes of some restless 

 Loon, which arose in a hoarse, reverberating cry and died away 

 in a strange gurgling sound. As my eyelids began to droop and 

 the scene to become indistinct, suddenly a low, hollow, booming 

 note fell upon my ear and sent my thoughts back to a spring morn- 

 ing in Northern Illinois, and to the loud vibrating tones of the 

 Prairie Chicken. Again the sound arose nearer and more 

 distinct, and with an eflbrt I brought myself back to the reality 



