SANDERLING. 1 49 



black on the under parts. The quick flight, often with quivering 

 wings, is rather like that of the Common Sandpiper, but the bird 

 is not always in a hurry to fly. A number of Sanderlings will 

 run along the beach more quickly than a man can walk, and 

 finally skim out over the water to settle behind the disturber. 

 As the bird runs it will often uplift its wings, holding them with 

 the tips pointed skyward. 



The first immigrants, usually in quite small parties, arrive 

 about the middle of July, but in August the flocks are often 

 large. They do not cling to the tide-line, but scatter over the 

 beach at low water, working the shallow, slowly draining pools. 

 Most of the earlier birds show warm chestnut in their dress, and 

 the birds of the year, which have hurried from the short Arctic 

 summer, have the necks and breasts tinged with buff. Later in 

 August the chestnut markings are lost, and for a time adult birds 

 have very black backs. In the same flock in September I have 

 seen some in full winter grey, whilst others were very black and 

 white. Even in October a few birds retain traces of warm 

 colour, for like the Dunlin this bird is irregular in its changes, 

 and often moults slowly. The returning birds arrive towards 

 the end of March, and in April many are still grey^ but by early 

 June most are in nuptial garments. Perhaps more than other 

 waders, the Sanderling varies its diet of marine invertebrates 

 with vegetable fragments, picking up bits of seaweed or the 

 buds and tender shoots of littoral plants. The note in flight is 

 a sharp qiiik^ qiiik^ and on the beach a rapid wee^ wee, whit. 



The upper parts in summer are warm chestnut, streaked and 

 speckled on the head and breast, and variegated with black, 

 grey, and white on back and wings ; the lateral tail-coverts and 

 under parts below the breast are white. In winter the upper 

 parts are delicate French grey with darker but not very distinct 

 shaft streaks ; the quills are greyish brown. A line above the 

 eye and the under parts are white. Young in autumn are 

 spotted with black, white, and buff on the back and wings, and 



