0¥ THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 265 



Allied forms. — Heteropygia maculata, the American representative of 

 the Pectoral Sandpiper — also an abnormal migrant to the British Islands, and 

 the other species in the present genus already dealt with in the preceding chapters. 



Habits. — But little of interest has been recorded concerning the habits of 

 the Siberian Pectoral Sandpiper, and doubtless its economy very closely resembles 

 that of allied and better known species. Like most birds breeding in the high 

 north, this Sandpiper migrates late in spring and retires south early in autumn, 

 probably as soon as the young can fly. Swinhoe found it abundant on the Chinese 

 coasts in August, whilst Mr. Styan records it as passing through Shanghai in 

 fair numbers in April and May. The autumn migration, however, must be some- 

 what prolonged, because Dr. Stejneger states that these birds were observed on 

 Behring Island from the middle of September onwards for three weeks. He met 

 with them both on the tundra near the lake and on the rocky beach. He speaks 

 of them as being very shy, occurring singly or in small parties, never in large 

 flocks. Mr. Nelson met with this Sandpiper near North Cape, on the north shore 

 of Siberia, scattered about the wet grass flats near the coast as early as the first of 

 August. The birds were seeking for food amongst the reindeer tracks with which 

 the ground was covered. Curiously enough these individuals were the reverse 

 of shy, and allowed Mr. Nelson and his companions a close observation as they 

 circled round about his party. This naturalist states that the birds usually make 

 their first appearance on the shores of Norton Sound at the end of August, and soon 

 become very common. Sometimes they remained in this locality up to the 12th of 

 October ; and Mr. Nelson informs us that he has seen them searching for food 

 along the tide-line when the ground was covered with a couple of inches of snow. 

 Their tameness was remarkable, and if a flock was fired at the birds returned 

 again and again to the same spot. I find little or nothing recorded respecting the 

 flight, notes, or general habits of this interesting bird ; but Dr. Stejneger states 

 that its food partly, at all events, consists of gammarids. 



Nidification. — The nest and eggs of the Siberian Pectoral Sandpiper are 

 at present unknown to science. 



Diagnostic characters — Heteropygia, with the central rectrices -1 inch 

 longer than the next, with squamate markings on the belly and flanks (adult in 

 summer) ; and by the lesser amount of brown on the throat and chest, spotted 

 with dark brown. 



