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NOTES ON THE BREEDING-HABITS OF THE 

 CURLEW-SANDPIPER. 



BY 



MAUD D. HAVILAND. 



(Plate 3.) 



In July, 1914, I visited Golchika, at the mouth of the 

 Yenesei River. I first noticed the Curlew-Sandpiper 

 {Erolia ferruginea) on July 6tji, when I was returning 

 late in the evening from a nest-hunting expedition 

 over the higher tundras that lie in the northern angle 

 formed by the Golchika River and the Yenesei. On a 

 rough grassy slope overlooking a little lake, a single 

 bird was standing perfectly silently, observing me. 

 Mr. H. L. Popham took his nest at the Krestovskiy 

 Islands, which lie about two hundred versts further 

 down the estuary ; and as neither he in his expeditions 

 of 1895 and 1897, nor Seebohm in 1877, mentioned that 

 the Curlew- Sandpiper occurred as far south as Golchika, 

 I was rather surprised to see it there. I lay down and 

 watched it for a while ; but as it made no demonstration 

 at my approach, and did not appear to have a mate, 

 I began to wonder whether after all it might not be a 

 non-breeding bird. Nevertheless, I marked the place 

 and determined to search the neighbourhood exhaustively 

 on the following day. 



I left the settlement early next morning, and covered 

 the eight miles between Golcliika and the tundra lake 

 before noon. The way lay partly over swamps, and 

 partly over grassy tundra. Possibly a list of the birds 

 seen on that morning's walk may be of some interest : 

 Snow-Bunting, Lapland-Bunting, Red-throated Pipit, 

 Shore-Lark, Little Stint, Temminck's Stint, Grey 

 Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Asiatic Golden Plover, 

 Ringed Plover, Dotterel, Dunlin, Siberian Gull, Long- 

 tailed Skua, Arctic Tern, Long-tailed Duck, Reeve, 

 Red-throated Diver, Snowy Owl. 



