CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 1 59 



30th there were thousands at Deep lake, yet on June 3rd the)' were 

 all gone. On June 3rd, 1895, specimens were shot by the writer at 

 Thirt5'--niile spring, and on June 6tli others at Twelve-mile lake, 

 near Wood mountain, Sask. They seemed to be breeding. Bishop 

 and Bent saw several migrating flocks near Hay lake, Sask., May 

 29th, 1905, in company with sanderlings. Two males taken at 

 Big Stick lake by Bishop, June 14th, 1906, were in breeding condition. 

 A flock seen by Bishop, July 13th, was the beginning of the fall 

 migration. In August, 1906, Atkinson noted this bird in "countless 

 thousands" between Saskatoon, Sask. and Edmonton, Alta. Rich- 

 ardson, Ross and Macfarlane agree in saying that this species occurs 

 in immense numbers in the breeding season both in the wooded 

 country and Barren Grounds and extends right up to the Arctic 

 coast. Nelson and Turner both say that this is a very common 

 species in Alaska, breeding throughout most of the country, but 

 especially along the marshy northern coast. In British Columbia 

 it is a common migrant, and Mr. Fannin has taken it in July on 

 Burrard inlet, so it is probable that a few pairs breed there. Brooks 

 says that it may breed in noi'thern Chilcotin, B.C. 



Breeding Notes. — This species arrives at St. Michael, Alaska, 

 about May 25th. Its food consists entirely of aquatic worms, 

 slugs, larvae and flies. It breeds in June. The nest is placed 

 among the grasses and consists of a lot of grass blades arranged 

 with little care. Four or five eggs, of greenish ground, thickly 

 blotched with dark, are laid. The young are able to fly by the first 

 of August. {Turner.) The usual number of eggs is four, which 

 vary considerabl)^ in exact colouration. The. ground-colour in the 

 very large series before me, obtained in the vicinity of St. Michael, 

 shades by every degree from the greenish clay colour to warm, buffy 

 olive-brown. The spots and markings are very irregular in size 

 and shape, but are usually larger about the large end of the egg. 

 {Nelson.) The nest, like that of the red phalarope, is a slight de- 

 pression in the ground, lined with a few dry leaves and grasses, and 

 is almost invariably situated on the margin of small pools or sheets 

 of water. Upwards of seventy nests were secured, the number of 

 eggs being always four. {Macfarlane.) 



Principally migratory, but a few breed on the Pribilof islands. 

 ElUot collected young on St. George island in 1873, and I obtained 

 two, just from the egg, on St. Paul island, July 2nd, i8go. These 



