328 
Clarke, Habits of the Solitary Sandpiper. 
TAuk 
LOct. 
Auk, XV, Oct., 
BREEDING HABITS OF THE SOLITARY SANDPIPER 
{TOT ANUS SOLITARIUS). 
BY C. K. CLARKE, M. D. 
Early this spring I became aware of the f^ct that at least one 
pair of Sandpipers, different from the Spottedt Sandpipers, which 
breed commonly on Simcoe Island, had taken up their residence 
there. 
Although the habits of the Bartramian Sandpiper formed the 
chief subject of investigation, time after times I was attracted by 
a pair of small Sandpipers, invariably to be fbund perched on the 
fence posts in a certain locality. Just what the birds were could 
not at first be satisfactorily determined, and for a time I was 
inclined to think that they might prove to be Buff-breasted Sand- 
pipers. As it was evident that they were likely to breed, I returned 
time and again to the island, generally carrying a gun, so that the 
birds might be secured if the nest was found. At last, when 
accompanied by the Rev. C. J. Young, the birds flushed in the 
usual locality, and a depression in the ground, nicely rounded, 
was found and marked. I returned in a week’s time fully expect- 
ing to take a set of eggs, but the birds had evidently deserted 
the place, and were no where to be seen. It was a disappoint- 
ment, as by this time it had become tolerably certain that the 
visitors were Solitary Sandpipers. 
On June 10, Mr. Edwin Beaupre and I went for a last look at 
the birds breeding on the island, but had given up all hope of 
finding the strange Sandpiper. We flushed a Bartramian Sand- 
piper, and were examining the nest containing three fresh eggs, 
when the little stranger rose within four or five feet of us, and 
there, in plain view not two yards from the Bartramian’s nest, 
were the eggs. The Sandpiper flew a short distance without 
uttering a sound, and sat on a fence post watching us. Unfor- 
tunately the gun had been left at home, but we had two pairs 
of good marine glasses and were able to examine the bird at 
close range as it perched on the fence. There was no longer 
Algonquin Park, which is reserved by the Ontario Government for the 
protection of game. The whole of the southern branch of the I’etewawa 
was investigated, and nearly everywhere the Solitary Sandpiper was 
encountered, singly, and in small flocks, the flocks consisting invariably 
.of two parent birds and this season’s young. On the 4th of August the 
young were more than half grown, and able to fly well. Although the 
Sandpipers were so easily approached in this unfrequented district, that 
it was a simple matter to identify them, still in order to leave no doubt, a 
specimen (adult) was taken from one of the flocks. No Spotted Sand- 
pipers were seen. 
The Petewawa district is extremely rich in Warblers, many of the rarer 
ones undoubtedly breeding there, but among the common birds it was 
interesting to find the Maryland Yellow-throat. A brood of Hermit 
Thrushes was seen, and the Great Horned Owl was extremely common. 
Near Renfrew, ninety miles north of Kingston, Bartramian Sandpipers 
( Bartramia longicauda) were noted in the fields. I have noiv traced this 
bird in Eastern Ontario over a region nearly a hundred miles square. 
— C. K. Clarke, M. D., Rock-wood Hospital. Kingston , Ontario . 
Auk, XVIII, Jan., 1901, p. uz- 
