GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 283 



Habits. — The American Stint is as well-known and abundant 

 in the United States during its seasons of migration, as the Little 

 Stint is in Western Europe. Unlike that bird, however, it appears 

 to migrate across inland districts as well as along the coast line. 

 They begin to arrive in the Southern States in April, slowly travel 

 on to New England early in May, reach North Carolina towards 

 the end of the latter month, but do not appear on the Arctic 

 tundras where they breed until early June, when the snow is 

 melted, and the " barren " grounds no longer deserve the name 

 but teem with life. Notwithstanding the fact that many follow 

 an inland course, the favourite haunts, both on passage and in 

 winter, are the mud-flats of the low-lying coasts. Here in the 

 wide marshes behind the actual beach, amongst the creeks and 

 mud-fringed streams, the American Stint may be watched in 

 flocks of varying size tripping about the slimy soil, picking here 

 and probing there in quest of their food. The return migration 

 commences with the immature non-breeding birds towards the 

 middle of Julyj in August many of the young appear, but the 

 great flights arrive during September. When in flocks the 

 American Stint is rather a silent bird, but when flushed solitary 

 or in little parties, it usually utters a sharp whit as it hurries 

 away. It is very tame when on the coast. Flocks of this bird 

 when flushed often perform various graceful evolutions in concert 

 before alighting again. Like all its congeners it is a restless, 

 active little bird, ever tripping about in quest of food, and very 

 frequently associates with other small Waders. The food of the 

 American Stint consists of insects and their larvae, small worms, 

 crustaceans, and moUusks, seeds, and various ground fruits. 

 Some of this food is sought on the weed-covered rocks at low 

 water, or even on masses of drifting seaweed. 



Nidification. — Eggs of the American Stint may be found 

 towards the end of June or early in July. Its breeding grounds 

 are on the Arctic tundras, sometimes near the coast, more fre- 

 quently a short distance inland on the margins of the lakes and 

 pools. The nest is merely a slight hollow in the ground, lined 

 with a little withered grass and dead leaves, and is often made 

 under the shelter of a bush or a stone. The eggs are four in 

 number, pale buff in ground colour, spotted and blotched with 



