92 SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC. 



240. Tringa f USCicoUis Vieill. Bonapakte Sandpiper : White- 



KLMPED Sandpiper. 

 Rump dusky, the feathers tipped with huffy ; upper tail coverts pure 

 white or slightly streaked with dusky. Adults in summer : upper parts 

 -L.i»"'" ^ huffy and gray, broadly streaked on crown and 



""^d^^mm^ ^Sj^^ back with black ; chest and sides ashy gray, 



^•llJIjfe^^^^^^^^P**^ streaked with dusky ; faint line over eye, chin, 

 urtcu-"-^ ^^^1 belly white. Adults in winter : upper parts, 



"■ ■ sides, and chest dark gray, obscurely streaked 



with dusky. Young : similar to adults, but feathers of upper parts exten- 

 sively margined with rusty, and chest tinged with huffy. Length : 6.75- 

 8.00. wing 4.90-5.00, bill .90-1.00, tarsus .95-1.00. 



Distribution. — Breeding in the far north and migrating south over 

 eastern North America and South America to Falkland Islands ; west to 

 Colorado. Casual in Europe. 



241. Tringa bairdii {Cones). Baird Sandpiper. 



Middle upper tail coverts plain dusky. Adults in summer : upper parts 



spotted and streaked with black, grayish, and huffy ; chest huffy, streaked 



with dusky ; line over eye, chin, and belly whitish. 



Adults in icinter : plain grayish brown, obscurely 



streaked with dusky ; under parts vhitish, chest 



Fig. 108. suffused with buffy. Young : feathers of back 



tipped with whitish, and chest less sharply streaked 



with dusky than in summer adult. Length : 7.00-7.00, wing 4.00-4.85, bill 



.90-1.00, tarsus 1.00. 



Distribution. — Most of North and South America. In North America, 

 chiefly the interior, breeding in Alaska and on the Barren Grounds. Rare 

 on the Atlantic, and apparently not recorded from the Pacific coast. 



Nest. — A depression in the ground, lined with leaves. Eggs : 4, light 

 drab, specked and spotted with brown. 



During migrations Baird sandpipers are common usually in small 

 flocks along the shores of lakes and ponds over the western prairie 

 country. 



242. Tringa minutilla Vieill. Least Sandpiper. 



Size very small, wing less than 4. Adults in summer : median parts of 

 tail, upper coverts, and rump black ; sides of coverts white, streaked 

 with dusky ; rest of upper parts mainly blackish, 

 specked and spotted with brown and buff ; chest 

 buffy gray, specked Avith dusky ; belly and flanks 

 Fig. 109. ^ white. Adults in winter : upper parts dark gray, 



obscurely spotted and streaked with dusky ; chest 

 light gray, finely streaked. Young : crown and back heavily streaked with 

 rusty, and back spotted with white ; chest buffy gray, faintly streaked. 

 Length: 5.00-6.75, wing 3.50-3.75, bill .7.5-92. tarsus .75. 



Distribution. — The whole of North and South America, wintering from 

 the Gulf of Mexico south, breeding mainly north of the United States. 

 Accidental in Europe. 



Nest. — On the ground, a slight depression lined with leaves and grass. 

 Eggs : 3 or 4, creamy buff to drab, irregularly spotted with brown. 



The least sandpipers are common, especially during migrations, 

 over a great part of the United States. A few remain in Dakota 



