OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 277 



algse, and seeds. In summer the bird doubtless eats ground 

 fruits. The call-note of this species is a single tweet, only repeated 

 under exceptional cases when the bird is alarmed or excited ; 

 but at the breeding grounds the male often indulges in short 

 flights with the wings elevated and beaten rapidly together, the 

 throat expanded to the utmost, uttering meanwhile a guttural note 

 which has been syllabled as hoo-hoo-hoo. 



NidiflGation. — Nothing appears to have been known re- 

 specting the breeding habits of the Pectoral Sandpiper until its 

 eggs were obtained by Lieutenant Ray's expedition to Point 

 Barrow in Alaska in 1882-83. The birds were observed to 

 arrive at their nesting places on the Arctic tundras or barren 

 grounds at the end of May, and early in June they began to pair. 

 The nest is stated to be always amongst the grass in a dry part 

 of the tundra. The nest has not been described minutely, but 

 the eggs are four in number. These vary in ground colour from 

 pale olive-brown to pale buff, blotched and spotted with rich 

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

 pyriform in shape, and measure on an average i"S inch in length 

 by I'l inch in breadth. Only one brood is reared in the year, 

 and as soon as the young are fledged they begin to congregate 

 into parties for migration, the old birds lingering and skulking 

 until they have completed their moult, before starting south. 



Diagnostic Characters. — Tringa, with the rump and 

 upper tail coverts blackish, with little or no white on the 

 secondaries, and with the central rectrices '25 inch longer than 

 the next, and "35 inch longer than the outermost. Length, 

 8J^ inches. For other characters see notes on allied forms 

 above. 



