269 
visiting the marshes, though within a few yards of its breeding-ground. Its habits 
seemed exactly like those of the common Piping Plover, and their notes are very sim¬ 
ilar. Its food consists of all sorts of worms and marine Crustacea w r hich it finds close 
to the water’s edge, following the retreating waves down and scurrying back as they 
come rolling in. 
July 7, I found two broods of young which had left the nest hut a few hours before. 
They were clothed in down, and were yet so "weak as scarcely to be able to stand. Sub¬ 
sequently I found quite a number of nests containing eggs. The spot selected for a 
breeding-ground was a strip of bare white sand, a hundred yards, perhaps, from the 
ocean. The nest was simplicity itself. In all but one instance the eggs were deposited in 
a slight hollow scratched in the sand, without lining of any sort. In the exceptional case 
the owners must have been of an artistic turn of mind, for they had selected from along 
the shore little bits of the pearly nacre, the remnants of broken sea-shells, and upon a 
smooth lining of this material were placed their treasures. The effect of the richly-col¬ 
ored eggs as they lay on the cushion of shining nacre was very pleasing. So slight is the 
contrast between the eggs and the drifted sand about them that they would be difficult 
enough to find were it not for the tracks about the nest. As the mates came to relieve 
each other from setting or to bring each other food, they alighted near the nest, and 
thus for a little distance about each one was a series of tracks converging to a com¬ 
mon center, which too surely betrayed their secret. Great was the alarm of the colony 
as soon as my presence was known, and, gathering into little knots, they nervously at¬ 
tended my steps, following at a distance with low sorrowful cries. The female, when 
she found her nest was really discovered, hesitated not to fly close by, and used all the 
arts which birds of this kind know so well how to employ on like occasions. With 
wings drooping and trailing on the sand, she would move in front till my attention was 
secured, when she would fall helplessly down, and burying her breast in the soft sand, 
present the very picture of utter helplessness, while the male with the neighboring pairs 
expressed his sympathy with loud cries. The full nest complement appears to be three, 
and in no instance did I find more. These are of a light clay-color, numerously marked 
with blotches and scratchy markings of black. In size and appearance they approach 
most closely to those of A. melodus, but may be easily distinguished by the different 
style of the spotting. 
Examining a good series of the eggs of melodus in the Smithsonian, I find them to vary 
among themselves but little in the character of their markings. These take the form 
of small circular dots, very rarely becoming aggregated into blotches, and without pen¬ 
like scratchings. Those of nivosus are more heavily marked with irregular blotches, 
while the scratchy marks are conspicuous. Three sets measure, respectively, 1.30 by 
0.93; 1.27 by 0.92; 1.25 by 0.93 ; 1.29 by 0.93 ; 1.27 by 0.89; 1.24 by 0.95; 1.22 by 0.90. 
No. 
178 
179 
180 
181 
209 
210 
212 
214 
216 
217 
213 
215 
218 
219 
230 
232 
233 
234 
235 
236 
237 
220 
760 
761 
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Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
“Wing. 
Tail. 
Bill. 
Tarsus. 
Santa Barbara, Cal. 
J ul v 
J ul'y 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
July 
J uly 
J uly 
July 
July 
July 
J uly 
July 
July 
4 
H. W. Ilensbaw. 
4. 23 
1. 93 
0. 60 
0. 97 
.do. 
4 
_do. 
4.22 
2. 00 
0. 64 
0. 92 
.do. 
4 
_do. 
4. 20 
1. 98 
0. 62 
0. 98 
.do. 
4 
_do. 
4. 08 
1. 85 
0. 61 
6. 88 
.do. 
7 
_do. 
4. 02 
1. 98 
0. 64 
0. 96 
.do. 
4 
_do. 
4. 08 
2. 08 
0. 63 
0. 92 
.do. 
7 
_do. 
3. 90 
1. 92 
0. 59 
0. 92 
.do. 
7 
_do. 
4. 20 
1.97 
0. 60 
0. 92 
.do. 
7 
_do. 
4.13 
1. 96 
0. 63 
0. 98 
.do. 
7 
_do.. 
4.13 
2. 03 
0. 63 
0. 93 
.do. 
7 
_do. 
_do ... 
7 
_do. 
_do ... 
7 
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7 
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8 
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8 
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8 
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8 
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8 
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do 
8 
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8 
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do 
8 
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8 
_do. 
do 
8 
.. do ... 
