156 
PRiECOCIAL G-RALLATORES — LIMICOL2E. 
other’s presence as long as it is undisturbed, yet if alarmed they rise and join in 
flocks. They run with great swiftness and grace over the sandy beaches. They 
are a very silent bird except when their treasures are threatened or when sud- 
denly alarmed. They are unsuspicious to an unusual degree, few Waders more so, 
and may always be readily approached. The young accompany the parents as 
soon as hatched, and until nearly grown are sheltered by the mother in the man- 
ner of the domestic hen. When first hatched they have a somewhat striking mottled 
appearance. 
On Lake Koskonong, in 1873, this species had reached its greatest abundance by 
the 15th of August ; and Giraud mentions its always arriving in Long Island in 
the latter part of the same month. It passes northward in its spring migrations 
early in May. Giraud states that this Plover frequents the same, situations with the 
Semipalmated Sandpiper, in company with which it is often seen gathering its food, 
and like that bird admitting of a very near approach. When alarmed, it utters a 
very sharp note. Late in the fall it migrates south. 
Audubon states that in their breeding-places birds of this species resort to moun- 
tainous mossy lands. In Labrador he met with them in almost every place at which 
he landed, and found them breeding in all the spots that were adapted for that 
purpose. On being surprised, when in charge of their young, they would beat the 
ground with the extremities df their opened wings, as if unable to rise. If pursued, 
they at first permitted a near approach, and then took to flight, seeking to decoy the 
intruder from their young, which squatted so closely that it was difficult to distinguish 
them. If the latter were traced, they ran swiftly off, uttering a plaintive peep, which 
never failed to bring their mothers to their aid. 
In that region this bird begins to breed early in June, and young ones about a 
week old were procured on the 2d of June. The nest of this species is simply a 
small cavity in the moss, in a place sheltered from the north winds, and open to the 
full rays of the sun, and usually near the margins of small ponds. The eggs are 
always four, and placed with the small ends together ; they are pyriform in shape 
— pointed at one end, and obtuse at the other. 
Audubon states that by the 12th of August all the individuals that had bred in 
Labrador had taken their departure, some proceeding by the Atlantic shore, others 
by the great lakes and rivers. At this period they are sometimes seen in ploughed 
fields searching for insects and worms. Their usual food consists of small Crustacea, 
mollusks, and the ova of marine animals. 
This Plover extends its migrations to the shores of the Arctic Sea, and in these 
more northern localities lines the depression in the sand which serves for its nest with 
dried grasses. Mr. MacFarlane found its nest made of withered leaves and grasses 
in a depression on the shore just above high-water mark. This bird was said to 
be tolerably numerous in that region. Mr. Ivennicott found it common on the 
shores of Lake Winnipeg. It was also found by Mr. Dali to be very common at 
Nulato, St. Michael’s, and near the mouth of the Yukon. There also the eggs were 
found laid in small depressions, made very smooth and round, and lined with 
a little dry grass, very carefully put in. The nests observed contained only two 
eggs each. 
Mr. MacFarlane found this species quite common on the shores of the Arctic Sea, 
at Franklin Bay, at Anderson River, Fort Anderson, and other localities near the 
coast. The nests were always mere cavities dug in the soil, sometimes with a few 
withered leaves, and occasionally with no lining whatever. The number of eggs was 
usually four ; in no instance more, but occasionally three or two. The parent bird 
