THE OOLOGIST. 



G7 



The Solitary Sandpiper. 



This bird is veiy abundant here dur- 

 ing tlie migrations; in fact they are so 

 plentiful that for several years I have 

 known them under the name of ''sj)ot- 

 ted sandpiper." Where the spots came 

 in had always been a mysterj' to me. 



I have had the good fortune to collect 

 three sets of their eggs. As I take skins 

 as well as eggs, there is no mistake in 

 the identitication. I had disposed of 

 tiie eggs under the above erroneous 

 name, when, by an accident, I discov- 

 ered that my skins, which were labeled 

 Spotted Sandpiper, were those of the 

 S()litary (Bhyacojyhilu):; solitnrius.) Af- 

 ter discovering my error, I endeavored 

 to get my eggs back, but only succeeded 

 in recovering one, which now rests 

 safely in my cabinet. 



The tirst set discovered was in Scott 

 Co., Minn. I am unable to recall the 

 exact date, l)ut it was about the third 

 week in June, 1887. It was ou the 

 shore of a lake whose edges were over- 

 hung with willows. The nest was 

 ])laced on the ground in a small open- 

 ing surrounded by willows. It was 

 merely a depression in the ground lined 

 Avith grass. It contained three eggs. 

 They were a grayish color and spotted 

 all o\er with dark brown. They were 

 quite pointed and averaged 1.35x.92. 



The second set was found July 4, 1888 

 in Sherburne Co., Minn., it was placed 

 about forty feet from the edge of a lake 

 end was concealed in a clump of scat- 

 tered willow bushes. It was a depres- 

 sion in the ground but contained no 

 lining. There were four eggs in the set. 

 They resembled somewdiat the preced- 

 ing set, but had , a more yelloAvish 

 ground color. They were slightl.y incu- 

 l)ated. The parent fluttered around 

 trying to attract my attention from her 

 treasures. Her anxious manner was 

 what caused me to look for them. 



The third and last set Avas on a'small 

 island in the river. One side of this 



island is a long, low sandbar covered 

 with willows, bushes and some small, 

 scrubby trees. ■ ■ 



On the 26th of June, 1889, I suddenly 

 came upon one of these birds in the 

 above spot. After a short search I 

 found the nest. It contained three 

 eggs which I left. I returned in about 

 a week, but they had hatched and i 

 was unable to find any trace of them. 



There is no mistake in my birds ?iow, 

 as they have been fully identified by 

 two prominent ornithologists of this 

 city. 



• Will ds la Baiike, 



Minneapolis. Minn. 



The Summer Redbird. 



As the R()))in is universally acknowl - 

 edged the forerunner of spring, so 

 should the Summer Redbird be acknowl- 

 edged as the bird who heralds approach- 

 ing summer, as it makes its first 

 appearance here from the middle till 

 the last of May. 



The Summer Redbird nests lAvice a 

 year, first in May, second in July. The 

 male is only equalled in brilliancy of 

 plumage by the Cardinal Grosbeak and 

 the. Orioles in this vicinity. He is cer- 

 tainly a beautiful bird, his feathers, as 

 the name implies, being of a bright, 

 solid red, unrelieved by any other 

 color. 



The plumage of the female is yellow- 

 ish, dim in color, verging into a darker 

 color cm the wings and tail. 



The birds may construct theii" nest 

 either in a tree or in a bush. I have 

 seen them in both places. When placed 

 in a tree, the nest is usually built at the 

 extremity of a long horizontal limb and 

 is, therefore, very difficult to reach, es- 

 pecially if the limb is of a considerable 

 distance from the ground. Climbing 

 irons are of no avail here, for though 

 they might aid you in climbing the tree, 

 they cannot assist you in reaching a 

 nest which is often many feet from the 

 body of the tree. 



