380 



the most numerous of the migratory Waders, and generally forms the chief feature in the bag 

 of the Barbadian sportsman. The flocks do not, however, remain long on the island, but pass 

 on after a few hoars' stay." 



I have only had an opportunity of observing this species during migration, when it was in 

 small flocks frequenting the coast and the borders of lagoons or inland on the banks of rivers or 

 in marshes. 



As a rule, I did not find it very shy, but it is restless, and will when disturbed fly round, 

 uttering its clear sharp whistle, thus putting any other birds that may be near on the alert. It 

 feeds on worms, insects, and small marine animals, and gets very fat, being then excellent 

 eating. In the breeding-season it is, according to Swainson, " seen either solitary or in pairs on 

 the banks of every river, lake, and marsh up to the northern extremity of the continent. It is 

 very impatient of any intrusion on its haunts, and often betrays the approach of the sportsman 

 to the less vigilant of the feathered tribes by flying round his head, its legs hanging down and 

 the wings drooping, and uttering its incessant though plaintive cries. Previous to its retreating 

 southwards on the approach of winter, it collects in small flocks, and halts for a time on the 

 shores of Hudson's Bay." It breeds in the extreme north of the American continent and 

 throughout the fur countries; it also probably breeds as far south as Chicago, as Mr. Nelson 

 obtained young birds, barely able to fly, there on the 1st July, 1874, and noticed several pairs 

 during the breeding-season about the Calumet marshes. 



Speaking of its breeding-habits, Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway write (7. c.) as 

 follows: — "Mr. Kennicott, who found it breeding near Fort Resolution, states that it arrives 

 there in the spring among the first birds. He describes its nest as of the simplest kind, it being 

 merely a depression without any lining at the foot of a small bush, in rather open ground, a 

 rod from the edge of a marsh. Another nest was in an open place among sparse low bushes — 

 a simple depression, but lined with a few leaves and small sticks. Mr. MacFarlane found the 

 nest of this species, lined with decayed leaves, on the Lower Anderson River, and in some 

 instances they were near the edge of a small lake. Others were taken at Fort Anderson, some 

 as early as June 2nd. The nests were all mere depressions, with a very scanty lining. The 

 usual number of eggs was four. In several instances the male bird was seen to perch on trees 

 near the nest in the manner of the Common Snipe. Some were already hatched by the 

 19th of June. 



"When the pair had young they were very noisy, going constantly before the intruder from 

 tree to tree for several hundred yards beyond their nest. The young, even when just hatched, 

 run and hide in the short grass, so as to make it difficult to find them, the parents in the 

 meanwhile flying and screaming in the air above. 



" The eggs of this species obtained by Mr. MacFarlane exhibit some variations in the 

 shading of the ground and in their markings. No. 11397 Nat. Mus. average in measurement 

 1-68 inches in length and 1T2 in breadth. Their ground-color is a light drab, verging in 

 some into a darker hue, marked with separate rounded blotches of lustre, of a light tint, and 

 washed in a few instances with ground-color, giving the effect of a light ashy slate. 

 No. 11388 S. I., the ground-color a dull deep rufous drab, the spots more numerous and 

 confluent, giving to the eggs a very different effect from that usually presented." 



