THE SANDPIPERS 



795 



fairly abundant in suitable places during May and again 

 from August to November. Indeed they have been 

 much more successful than the knot, the willet, and the 

 Bartramian sandpipers. 



The knot which is about the size of the yelloviflegs, 

 but with a shorter bill and legs, formerly occurred in 



A "SANDPEEP" ON THE SHORE 

 The Least and Semipalmated are the smallest of the Sandpipers. 



flocks of thousands along the coast, but has been so 

 decimated that it can no longer be considered a game 

 bird. It has the unfortunate habit of flying in very 

 dense flocks so that many could be killed at a single 

 shot. In the spring the underparts of the knot are a 

 beautiful rufous, giving it the name of robin snipe. 



The willet is considerably 

 larger and has striking black 

 and white markings in its wings. 

 It was formerly found along the 

 coast as far north as Nova 

 Scotia, but is now rare north of 

 Virginia. 



The Bartramian sandpiper or 

 upland plover as it is better 

 known, is about the size of the 

 yellowlegs, but is brown instead 

 of gray and has a shorter bill. 

 It is more a bird of the interior 

 than the other sandpipers and 

 was formerly very abundant 

 throughout the grassy plains 

 and pastures of the Mississippi 

 Valley. It is ordinarily a shy 

 bird, but will permit one driving 

 or on horseback to approach 

 very close. Market hunters took 

 advantage of this in former 



years and nearly exterminated the species. In a few 

 places, however, they are still firmly established and now 

 that they are protected by the Federal Law should 

 increase. Like the willet they always stretch their wings 

 straight up over their backs when they alight and then 



close them. They have a striking call dunng the breed- 

 ing season like the syllables "chr-r-r-r-r-ee-e-e-e-e-e-oo- 

 o-o-o-o-oo," given with a rising and falling inflection. 

 Indeed most of the shore-birds have striking whistles and 

 as they are quite easily imitated and decoy to the imita- 

 tion, it has made their extermination all the more 

 possible. 



The smallest of the sandpipers, 

 called "sandpeeps," are the least 

 and semipalmated which in out- 

 ward appearance are very much 

 alike, the semipalmated being 

 somewhat grayer. They are 

 usually seen in flocks which 

 along the coast are often of con- 

 siderable size. A much whiter 

 species, somewhat larger, is 

 called the sanderling. It prefers 

 the drier, sandier shores, whence 

 the name. 



The pectoral sandpiper has 

 almost the exact color pattern 

 of the least sandpiper, but is 

 much larger. The red-backed 

 sandpiper is conspicuously 

 marked in the spring with red- 

 dish-brown upper parts and a 

 broad band of black across the belly, but in the fall it 

 becomes entirely gray above and white below. It can 

 be distinguished from the others of its size by its slightly 

 decurved bill. The remaining sandpipers are too numer- 

 ous for full description, but the white-rumped is 

 very similar to the red-backed in the fall, the Baird's that 



This is the Least. 



*jA>iw'^k. -f I 



■ *t: 



-r***'"^-- i' .,.•. 



ANOTHER "SANDPEEP" 



But this time a Semipalmated Sandpiper— it has a somewhat heavier bill and is somewhat grayer than 



the Least. 



resembles a small gray pectoral, and the stilt sandpiper 

 with dark legs that resembles the yellowlegs might be 

 mentioned. Then there are other sandpipers that have 

 departed from the type of those thus far mentioned. The 

 curlews, for example, are considerably larger and 



