The OoLOGiST. 



VOL. XII. NO. 9. 



ALBION, N. Y., SEPTEMBER, 1895. 



Whole No. ll'J 



Two 'Knots" Shot at Stoney Point, N. Y. 



Lnst Tuesday morning after several 

 clays of severe wind, almost a gale from 

 the northwest, a young enthusiastic ob- 

 server and ornithologist of this city, 

 Mr. James Savage, took his wheel and 

 gun and spea out to Stony Point, think- 

 ing that he might perhaps find a rare 

 bird on the beach that had, b}'^ the se- 

 verity of the wind, been thrown out of 

 his course southward. His expecta- 

 tions were agreeably rewarded. Com- 

 ing to the point he saw two waders 

 that seemed to be entirely new to his 

 experienced eyes. He was lucky 

 enough to secure both. To his surprise 

 , he found that they Avere male and fe- 

 male of the heretofore, in this vicinity, 

 not observed "Knot," also called Red- 

 breasted and Ash-culored Sandpiper, or 

 Gray-back. This handsome species, so 

 remarkable for its seasonable differ- 

 ences of plumage, is the largest of the 

 North American Sandpipers. It inhab- 

 its most parts of the globe; in America 

 chietiy coastwise, and breeds in hi^th 

 latitudes. 



"In autumn and winter," says Audu- 

 bon, "this species is abundant along the 

 whole range of our coast, wherever the 

 shores are sandy or muddy,from Maine 

 to the mouths of the Mississippi; but I 

 never found one far inland. Sometimes 

 they collect in flocks of several hundred 

 individuals, and are seen wheeling over 

 the water, near the shore, in beautiful 

 order, and now and then so close to- 

 gether as to afford an excellent shot, es- 

 pecially when they suddenly alight in a 

 mass near the sportsman, or when 

 swiftly veering they expose their lower 

 parts at the same moment. On such 

 occasions a dozen or more may be 

 killed at once, provided the proper mo- 

 ment is chosen." 



An authentic egg of the Knot has for 

 many years been the object of special 

 and diligent search by eminent natur- 

 alists and explorers traveling in Arctic 

 regions where the bird is known to live 

 during the season of reproduction. 

 Lieut. A. W. Greeley, U. S. A., com- 

 mander of the late expedition to Lady 

 Franklin's Sound, succeeded in obtain- 

 ing the long sought for egg of the 

 "Knot." C. H. Merriam publishes the 

 first account of it, written by Lieut. 

 Greeley as follows: "The specimen of 

 bird and egg were obtained in the vi- 

 cinity of Fort Conger, latitude 81 deg. 

 44 miu. N., color, light pea gi-een, close- 

 ly spotted with brown in small specks 

 about the size of a pin head." 



Mr. Savage has these rare specimens 



mounted by Mr. H. Grieb of this city, 



and will undoubtedly present them to 



the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. 



O. Reinecke, 



Aug. 23, 1895. Buffalo, N. Y. 



Nesting of Richardson's Merlin 



On May 18th a friend of mine while 

 looking for nesi,s of the Ferruginous 

 Buzzard on an island in the Bow River, 

 near Calgary Alberta, noticed a small 

 Hawk fly from a Black Poplar, and up- 

 on proceeding to the spot the bird com- 

 n)enced screeching and was almost im- 

 mediatly joined by its mate, and by the 

 time my friend stood under the tree the 

 two birds were making a tremendous 

 noise, and were very bold, making re- 

 peated swoops to within a few yards of 

 the intruder's head. 



My friend was not long in reaching 

 the top of the tree which had been 

 broken off at some time, and was re- 

 warded by the sight of five as handsome 

 eggs as he ever saw. The nest was 



