CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. t6i 



MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 



A pair, taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring, in October, 

 1884. 



341. Baird's Sandpiper. 



Tringa bairdii (Coues) Sclat. 1867. 



Accidental at Digby, Nova Scotia. Gilpin.') Rare visitor at 

 Montreal, one shot out of a flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers, 

 September 17th, 1892. {Wintle.) Prior to 1886, only one speci- 

 men of this species had been recorded in Ontario. One specimen 

 was taken on the 23rd of August, 1886, and two more on the 1st 

 of September. These four are the only specimens known to the 

 writer. {^Mcllwraith. ) 



This is a common migrant in Manitoba and westward to the 

 Rocky Mountains. It was first seen at Indian Head, Assa., on 

 May 9th, 1892, was common by the i6th and disappeared on the 

 2nd of June. Rather rare in Alaska, but more common as we 

 proceed to the north. Nelson found it at places along the 

 Arctic coast, north of Kotzebue Sound and at Point Barrow in 

 August, 1 88 1. Brooks found it abundant at Sumas Lake, on 

 the Lower Fraser River, B.C., in the fall, but rare in the spring, 

 on account of the inundation of their feeding-grounds. Spread- 

 borough shot three out of a flock of ten on the 23rd August, 1893, 

 on Stubbs Island, west coast of Vancouver Island. Mr. E. An- 

 derson took it on Lake Okanagan, B.C., in October, 1897. 



Breeding Notes. — On the 24th of June, 1864, a nest contain- 

 ing four eggs was found in the Barren Grounds in a swampy 

 tract between two small lakes. It was composed of a few decay- 

 ed leaves, placed in a small cavity in the ground shaded with 

 grass. It is very uncommon in the north, though nests were 

 discovered.- {Macfarlane.) This species arrives at Point Barrow 

 about May 30th. After the tundra becomes clear of snow 

 it retreats from the beach and is especially to be looked for 

 on dry grassy portions of the tundra. It is never very com- 

 mon and is always solitary or in pairs. The nest was always 

 well hidden in the grass and never placed in marshy ground or 

 on the bare black portions of the tundra ; it consists merely of a 

 slight depression in the ground, thinly lined with dried grass. All 

 the eggs we found were obtained from the last week in June to 



