?34 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



eniulatini;; the famous Skylark, ami, inflating his 

 great pouch, ghdes down again to the ground ; 

 or he flies slowly along the ground, his head 

 raised high and his tail hanging straight down, 

 uttering a succession of booming notes. As he 

 struts about the female his low notes swell and 

 die away in musical cadences." (Forbush.) 



Although migrating in flocks the " Kriekers " 

 scatter when a good feeding meadow is reached, 

 and are generally flushed from the grass singly. 

 They prefer the bayside meadows, and are seldom 

 seen along the margins of ponds or on the 

 beaches. It is probable that they " fatten up '' 



on some favorite food further north, for they are 

 extremely fat when they arrive on the Long 

 Island (N. Y.) marshes in September. They 

 "lie" well, flushing within easy gunshot range 

 with a flight similar to that of Wilson's Snipe 

 but less rapid. The zigzags are shorter, the 

 course rapidly straightens out, and if the " sports- 

 man " waits a few seconds after they spring, it 

 is not difiicult to add them to the " bag." When 

 the early morning mists of September hang low- 

 over the meadows Pectoral Sandpipers, magni- 

 fied by the fog, appear nearly as large as Wilson's 

 Snipe. R. I. Brasher. 



WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER 

 Pisobia fuscicollis {Vicillot) 



.\. O. U. \umber 240 See Color Plate 35 



Other Names. — Bonaparte's Sandpiper ; Schintz's 

 Sandpiper ; Sand-bird ; Bull Peep. 



General Description. — Length, 7 inches. In summer, 

 the upper parts pale brownish with dusky stripes and 

 the lower parts white with brownish markings ; in 

 winter, brownish-ash above and whitish below. Middle 

 tail-feathers pointed and longer than others. 



Color. — Adults in Summer: Crown and upper 

 parts, pale brownish, each feather with a large dusky 

 center, forming stripes on back ; crown, striped with 

 dark brown ; shoulders, more chestnut ; rumfi and upfer 

 tail-coverts, Zi'liitc : central tail-feathers, brownish-black, 

 the rest light grayish, broadly edged and tipped with 

 white; sides of head, neck, and breast, washed with 

 pale yellowish-brown, spotted with darker; an indis- 

 tinct dark brown streak from bill through and behind 

 eye ; wing-coverts and secondaries, grayish-brown 

 edged with lighter ; primaries, dusky ; chin and throat, 

 white; abdomen and rest of under parts, white; bill 

 and feet, dusky-greenish ; iris, brown surrounded by a 

 white ring. Adults in Winter: Crown, hack of neck, 

 hack, and shouhiers. hroi^'nish-ash. indistinctly streaked 



with darker; rump and upper tail-coverts, white: cen- 

 tral tail-feathers, dusky; the rest, light ash; some 

 feathers of shoulder and back, deep chestnut edged with 

 white ; wing, as in summer ; a broad streak over eye. 

 chin, throat, and under parts in general, whitish faintly 

 spotted with pale brown ; a streak from bill through and 

 behind eye, dark brownish-ash ; bill, dusky horn, lighter 

 at base; feet, dusky-greenish; iris, brown surrounded 

 by a white ring. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: A depression in the ground, 

 lined with a few leaves. Eggs: 4, light olive or olive- 

 brown, boldly spotted and marked with deep sepia, 

 chiefly at large end. 



Distribution. — North and South America ; breeds 

 along the .\rctic coast from northwestern Mackenzie to 

 Cumberland Island; has occurred in summer west to 

 Point Barrow and east to Greenland ; winters from 

 Paraguay to southern Patagonia and the Falkland 

 Islands; in migration most abundant in the Mississippi 

 valley, less so on the Atlantic coast ; casual in the 

 Bermudas, Great Britain, the West Indies, and Central 

 America. 



The White-rumped Sandpiper is usually found 

 among the Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers 

 tripping over awash seaweed or running along 

 the shore. They seldom associate with flocks of 

 their own kind, but prefer the company of other 

 species. In autumn plumage they can be easily 

 confused with the smaller Sandpipers, but close 

 scrutiny will reveal the white upper tail-coverts 

 — a conspicuous identification mark. Their 



habits are similar to those of other members of 

 the family and they are naturally unsuspicious 

 unless repeatedly disturbed. 



An important part of the diet of the White- 

 rumped Sandpiper consists of grasshoppers of 

 species known to be injurious to crops. This is 

 a real service to man which should not be over- 

 looked when measures for the adequate protec- 

 tion of the birds are considered. 



