100 



261. Upland Plover, bartramian sandpiper, bartram's plover, field plover. 

 FR. — LA MAUBECHE A LONGUE QUEUE. Bartramia longicauda. L, 11-50. Upperparts, 

 dark; feathers deeply edged with buff which colour suffusea rather strongly over head, 

 breast, and neck. Dark V-shaped markings on breast turning to bars on flanks and 

 stripes on neck; underparts, dull, creamy-white. 



Distinctions. Bearing in mind that this species is a Sandpiper and not a real Plover, 

 the size and general suffusion of buff is characteristic. The inner web of the first primary, 

 sharply marked with acute, dark, saw-teeth against a white ground for most of its length, 

 is a character that occurs in no other comparable Canadian Shore Bird. The Hudsonian 

 Curlew has a similar design but on a buff ground. 



Field Marks. The Upland Plover on the ground is scarcely recognizable as a wader 

 by those unfamihar with it, resembling a long-legged grouse chick rather than a 

 Sandpiper. In flight, however, it exhibits its true relationship. Size, general buflfiness, 

 and upland habitat are distinctions. Its beautiful long drawn whistle once heard can 

 never be mistaken. 



Distribution. Properly a bird of the prairie regions but probably spreading to the 

 east when the forests were cleared away. It breeds in the more southern parts of eastern 

 Canada and in the prairie provinces, appearing occasionally on the Atlantic coast as a 

 migrant. 



Though called a Plover in its accepted name, this species is a true 

 Sandpiper. The term Bartramian Sandpiper is a more satisfactory name 

 and the one that should be in general use instead of Upland Plover. Once 

 considerably more common that at present in the Great Lakes region, it is 

 now scarce or rare. The species nested in the cultivated sections and was 

 exposed to the accompanying dangers of such localities: agricultural dis- 

 turbances to nesting, the ever present small boy with his cheap shot gun, 

 the pot-hunter, and the sportsman. Size and ease of approach have 

 evidently been the cause of its disappearance, where the smaller and warier 

 Killdeer has been able to survive under the same conditions. As indicated 

 by its name this species has deserted the ancestral wet habitat of its family 

 and taken to upland meadows and dry pastures. It is, however, rarely 

 found at any great distance from some small body of water. It alights 

 readily on fences, fence-posts, buildings, or trees on occasion. 



Economic Status. Frequenting cultivated land, this species feeds 

 largely on insects, grasshoppers, cut-worms, and other enemies to grass 

 crops. It has been known to be of marked importance in reducing locust 

 plagues, hence it must be classed among our most beneficial species and its 

 presence should be encouraged. 



262. Buff-breasted Sandpiper, fr. — la maub^che a poitrine jaunatre. Tryn- 

 gites subruficollis. L, 8-50. Back and crown dark, feathers of lower back finely edged 

 with cream; underparts white; throat, neck, breast, and flanks strongly suffused with 

 buff, which colour tinges much of the upperparts. 



Distinctions. Small size, and general buffy colour, underside of the inner webs 

 of the primaries finely speckled with dark on white. The under-wing surface is beau- 

 tifully marbled in a manner that is assumed by no other eastern species. 



Field Marks. Small size and general buffy colour. It may appear on uplands like 

 the Upland Plover, but the latter is much larger. 



Distribution. Breeds on the Arctic shores of the extrer^e northwest, migrating 

 down the Mississippi valley; hence it is very rare in the Maritime Provinces, scarce in 

 the Great Lakes region, and more common westward. 



Economic Status. What has been said of the Upland Plover is probably 

 true of this species. 



263. Spotted Sandpiper, pewit, teeter, tip-up. fr. — la maubeche tache- 

 TEE. l'alouette A braule queue. Actitis nmctdavia. L, 7-50. Plate VIIIB. 



