Nelson writes that these birds have been noted on Pacific coasts north of the equator. They range across the broad ocean, usually alone or in pairs, to the South Sea islands, tripping daintily on beaches of atolls, their feet laved by warm tropic waters, and eyes familiar with luxuriant nature in its most lovely aspect. The next season may find them thousands of miles north, under shadows of stupendous cliffs among the grand but desolate Aleutians.
Western North and South America, eastern Asia and Oceanica.