5064 THE ZooLOGIsT—SEPTEMBER, 1876. 
any part of the vast American continent which is without the 
presence of some members of the numerous family of sandpipers. 
Around the coast the sands and oozes swarm with the redbreasted 
snipe, the tiny peep, and many other Limicole; the sides of 
inland rivers and lakes are haunted by various tattlers; waders, 
fat and in good condition, are met with around the alkaline pools 
of the Upper Missouri; and the level expanse of the prairie 
affords a home to the beautiful Bartram’s sandpiper, vulgarly 
known as the “prairie pigeon,” to the pectoral sandpiper, and 
to the buffbreasted sandpiper—one of the most prized of all the 
Tringe which occasionally wander to our country. In the 
month of May the prairie presents a sight which would delight 
any student of birds. Tt is then alive with thousands of 
Esquimaux curlews, on their way to their favourite haunts, 
where they can feast on the berries of Empetrum nigrum, 
the “curlew’s berry”; with flocks of golden plover, and with 
numerous Bartram’s sandpipers, the latter tame and confiding, and 
preparing to nest. Here is the Doctor’s account of a young brood 
of the latter beautiful species :— 
“Young birds are abroad late in June,—curious little creatures, timid 
and weak,—led about by their anxious parents, solicitous for their welfare, 
and ready to engage in the most unequal contests in their behalf. When 
half-grown, but still in the down, the little creatures have a curiously 
clumsy, top-heavy look; their legs look disproportionately large, like those 
of a young colt or calf; and they may be caught with little difficulty, as 
they do not run very well. I once happened upon a brood, perhaps two 
weeks old, rambling with their mother over the prairie. She sounded the 
alarm to scatter her brood, but not before I had secured one of them in my 
hand. I never saw a braver defence attempted than was made by this 
strong-hearted though powerless bird, who, after exhausting her artifices to 
draw me in pursuit of herself, by tumbling about as if desperately wounded, 
and lying panting with outstretched wings on the grass, gave up hope of 
saving her young in this way, and then almost attacked me, dashing close 
up and retreating again to renew her useless onslaught. She was evidently 
incited to unusual courage by the sight of her little one struggling in my 
hand. At this downy stage the young birds are white below, finely mottled 
with black, white, and rich brown above; the feet and under mandibles are 
light coloured; the upper mandible is blackish.” 
Some of the Totanide are amongst the most wary and difficult 
birds to approach. At the breeding-season, however, their habits 
