VOL. viii] HABITS OF THE LITTLE STINT. 203 



little knee-high willow scrub that grew at the edge of 

 the marshes ; and unlike those of the Temminck's 

 Stints, their nests were frequently lined with the dead 

 leaves, as is seen in the accompanying photograph. 

 This nest, together with the parent bird, was photo- 

 graphed on Golchika Island itself. No hiding shelter 

 was required, of course. The tameness of the Little Stint 

 during the nesting-season is quite extraordinary and 



THE DELTA OF THE GOLCHIKA RIVER AND YENESEI. LOOKING 



NORTH. 



Copyright. Maud D. Haviland. 



even uncanny. I sat down within three feet of the 

 nest, and within half an hour exposed two dozen plates 

 upon the bird as she ran round her eggs. The chief 

 difficulty was to remain far enough away to focus her 

 accurately. Once or twice when I touched the nest, 

 she fluttered up as if she would have flown at me, and 

 then ran distractedly round my feet, feigning a broken 

 wing, but otherwise she made no demonstration whatever 

 at my presence. This passion to brood which is found 

 exceptionally in the individuals of many species, but 

 which is the rule mth the Little Stint, becomes so 



