BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. 



Tryngites subruficollis. 



Char. Upper parts yellowish brown mottled with black ; central tail- 

 feathers greenish black, others paler and barred towards the tips ; under 

 parts huffish with a rufous tinge, the linings of the wings paler and beau- 

 tifully marbled with black ; breast with a few dark spots. Length about 

 8 inches. 



Nest. On a knoll in a grassy plain or near a river bank, — a slight 

 depression lined with a little moss or grass, or a few leaves. 



Eggs. 4 ; pale reddish buff sometimes tinged with olive, profusely 

 marked with lavender and rich reddish brown of several shades; 1.45 

 X 1.00. 



This elegant species, some seasons, is not uncommon in 

 the market of Boston in the month of August and September, 

 being met with near the capes of Massachusetts Bay. My 

 friend Mr. Cooper has also obtained specimens from the 

 vicinity of New York ; and it was first discovered by Veil- 

 lot in the then Territory of Louisiana, so that, coursing along 

 the shores of the Mississippi, and thus penetrating inland, it 

 probably proceeds, as well as in the vicinity of the sea-coast, 

 to its northern destination to breed, and is often here associ- 

 ated with the Pectoral Sandpiper, which it resembles very 

 much in size and bill, though perfectly distinct in plumage. As 



