GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 267 



regular, and not only taken along the coast, but inland down the 

 great river valleys. It is equally gregarious as the Dunlin, indeed, 

 often flocks with that species, as well as with other small Sand- 

 pipers. It is described by American naturalists as being re- 

 markably tame and trustful, and runs about the rocky beaches in 

 the presence of an observer with little show of fear. Bonaparte's 

 Sandpiper is a rather late bird of passage, even for an Arctic 

 species, passing along the coasts of the United States and up the 

 valley of the Mississippi during May, and reaching its breeding 

 grounds towards the end of that month or early in June. Odd 

 birds make their appearance in the Northern States near the end 

 of July, but the majority pass southwards during September and 

 October. Its actions on the shore are very similar to those of the 

 Dunlin. The bird runs about the wet sands and muds, and 

 over the weed-grown rocks in the usual restless manner. Its 

 flight is rapid, yet rather wavering, and it often wades breast-deep 

 into the water in its eager quest for food. The flocks often wheel 

 and gyrate in the air when disturbed. The note of Bonaparte's 

 Sandpiper is said by Coues to be a low, soft meet, unlike that of 

 any of the bird's congeners. Its food is said to consist of insects, 

 worms, moUusks, crustaceans, and other small marine animals, 

 and during summer various ground fruits are eaten. 



Nidification.— The breeding grounds of Bonaparte's Sand- 

 piper are the Arctic tundras in the immediate neighbourhood of 

 the sea. But little has been recorded of its habits during the 

 nesting season. A nest discovered by MacFarlane was merely a 

 hollow in the ground, lined with a few dead leaves. The eggs 

 are four in number, and vary in ground colour from olive to 

 grayish buff, blotched and spotted with dark reddish brown and 

 pale brown, and with underlying markings of gray. They are 

 pyriform in shape, and measure on an average i'25 inch in length 

 by '9 inch in breadth. It is said that only one brood is reared in 

 the year, and, like the Dunlin, as soon as the young are fledged, 

 they begin to migrate slowly south. 



Diagnostic Characters. — Tringa, with the upper tail coverts 

 white, more or less streaked with brown, and the bill under one 

 inch in length. Length, 7 J^ inches. 



