^".'hcs''] Clarke, Habits of the Solitary Sandpiper. 329 



any doubt about its identity, and it was easily classified as 

 the Solitary Sandpiper. We watched it for some time, as 

 it flew about, but its silence was remarkable, and in marked 

 contrast to the noisy demonstrations of the Bratramian Sand- 

 piper which had been disturbed. A glance at the eggs showed 

 that we had a rarity. In the first place the number, five, in 

 a Sandpiper's nest was a new experience, and the peculiar 

 coloring and markings were interesting. The eggs when collected 

 had the peculiar dark reddish ground color so frequently noticed 

 in fresh specimens of the Bartramian Sandpiper, but like them 

 soon lost this characteristic tint. Faint purple shell markings 

 gave a pleasing contrast, but the grotesque brown figurings, 

 somewhat similar in shape to those found on the eggs of the 

 Purple Grackle, remain as the striking feature. These grotesque 

 markings exist on three of the specimens. A comparison made 

 with a large series of the eggs of the Spotted Sandpiper reveals 

 the following differences : Solitary Sandpiper's differ from them 

 in shape, size, ground color and markings. 



In the eggs of the Spotted Sandpiper the markings are gener- 

 ally much thicker at the upper ends ; in the eggs of the Solitary 

 Sandpiper the reverse is the case. The variations in shape in 

 the set of the Solitary Sandpiper found, are somewhat remark- 

 able as the measurements show. Incubation was well advanced, 

 thus showing that the Bartramian had not been the first to 

 commence nest building. The location of the nest was in a 

 hilly field probably seventy-five yards from Lake Ontario. The 

 measurements of the eggs are as follows: — 1.39 X .95, inches, 

 1.32X.94, 1.30X.97, 1.30X.94, 1.29X.95. 



