68 THE BIRDS 
plentiful. They arrive from the south about April 15th, 
apparently mated at that time. During the nesting season 
it is a most noisy bird, their oft-repeated ery of “Pilly 
willet, Pilly willet,” high overhead, attracting the atten- 
tion of everything for hundreds of yards around. 
Formerly the nests were quite easily found, being placed 
among the sand dunes near the beach, but the few remain- 
ing pairs on our coastal islands have learned to nest 
further back toward the bay side, where, amongst the tall, 
thick grass, they are very hard to locate. Sometimes they 
lay out on the marsh, though this practice is not common. 
The nest is a slight hollow in the sand or earth, a few fine 
grasses for an inner lining. The eggs number four, the 
ground color a bright, glossy, greenish- or grayish-buff, 
heavily spotted and blotched with various shades of brown, 
and undermarkings of lavender, preferably on the larger 
end. 
Fresh eges Mav 17th to 25th. Only one brood a season. 
The eggs are pyriform in shape and measure 2.10x1.60. 
They leave us for their migration southward the latter 
part of September. The greater part of their food con- 
sists of tender rootlets, seeds, snails, and marine insects 
cast up by the tides. 
GENUS BARTRAMIA. 
[261]. Bartramia longicauda (Bechstein). Upland 
Plover. 
[Field Plover]. 
Raner.—North and South America. Breeds from 
northwestern Alaska, southern Mackenzie, central Kee- 
watin, central Wisconsin, southern Michigan, southern 
