240 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



beach at high tide, waiting for the recession of 

 the waters ; but as the ebb begins, the Httle flock 

 scatters along the shore, retreating before each 

 wave, following down the backwash, until some- 

 times forced to fly by the oncoming surge, intent 

 upon the flotsam and jetsam of the sea washed 

 up for their delectation, spread for a brief mo- 

 ment upon the sloping sands and then carried 

 back into the deep. The Sanderling neglects no 

 opportunity. It follows its prey at times until 

 up to its breast in the wave but always nimbly 

 avoids immersion. Because of this habit, the 

 Sanderling is beter known to many as the Surf 

 Snipe. If disturbed the little flock rises, flies 

 out over the surf and turns, flying up or down 

 the beach, now low in some great sea hollow, 

 now just skimming the crest of a foaming 

 breaker, but they soon swing in again and drop- 



ping upon the sands resume their absorbing 

 occupation. 



The Sanderling's common note is a sharp cliit. 

 The bird may be distinguished from the little 

 "Sand-peeps,'' which it much resembles, by its 

 larger size, and from other Sandpipers by its 

 light color and whitish head. When in flight it 

 shows a line of conspicuous white spots on the 

 wing. When in hand it may be readily distin- 

 guished from all other Sandpipers by the lack 

 of a hind toe — a characteristic of the Plovers. 

 In the spring and autumn migrations the Sand- 

 erling is not uncommon on the Great Lakes and 

 is recorded from various parts of the Mississippi 

 valley, but the sea is its first love. Its flights are 

 largely made over the ocean and it can rest on 

 the water if necessary and swim with the ease 

 of a duck. Edward Howe Forbush. 



HUDSONIAN GODWIT 

 Limosa haemastica (LiiiiKrux) 



A. O. U. .\umber 251 .See Color Plate .?8 



Other Names. — Red-breasted Godwit ; Ring-tailed 

 Marliii ; Spot-rump; Field Marlin ; Goose-bird; Black- 

 tailed Godwit ; Black-tail ; .'Vmerican Black-tailed God- 

 wit; \\'liite-rinn[) ; .Smaller Dough- or Doe-bird. 



General Description. — Length, i6 inches. In sum- 

 mer, color of upper parts brownish-black mottled with 

 lighter colors, under parts, chestnut ; in winter, upper 

 parts plain dull ashy, under parts lighter ash shaded 

 with huffy; always a white spot just above the tail. 



Color. — Adults in Summer: Upper parts brown- 

 ish-black with greenish gloss, variegated with rufous, 

 yellowish, or white, lighter colors scalloping edges of 

 feathers; rump, blackish: upper tail-c averts , conspicu- 

 ously zvltitc: tail, black, white at base and white-tipped; 

 head and neck, streaked with dusky ; under parts, rich 

 chestnut crossed ivith numerous black bars, these bars 

 tending to spots on breast and neck ; rear under parts, 

 crossed also with white bars ; bill, pale reddish, terminal 



third black ; legs, bluish-gray ; iris, brown. Adults in 

 Winter: General plumage, plain dull ashy lightening 

 on head, neck, and under parts where shaded with pale 

 huffy; tail, as in summer: upper tail-coverts, conspicti- 

 ously zc'hite; bill, flesh-colored with dusky tip; feet, 

 liluish-gray. Plumages intermediate between the two 

 are common. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: A hollow scooped out of 

 the ground, lined with a few leaves and grasses. Eggs: 

 4, dark olive-drab marked with still darker brownish 

 shade of the ground color. 



Distribution. — North and South America ; breeds 

 from the lower Anderson River southeast to central 

 Kecwatin ; winters in Argentina. Patagonia, and the 

 Falkland Islands; in migration occurs principally east 

 of the Great Plains, most commonly on the Atlantic 

 coast in autumn and in the Mississippi valley in spring; 

 casual in Alaska. 



The Ciodwits constitute a genus {Limosa) of 

 the Snipe and Sandpiper family, and include 

 about half a dozen species of which two are 

 American birds. Two others, the Pacific Godwit 

 (Limosa lapponica baucri) and the Black-tailed 

 Godwit (Limosa limosa), are included in check- 

 lists of North American avifauna — the first be- 

 cause a few individuals have strayed from Siberia 

 to the islands ofif Alaska and there reproduced 

 their kind, and the second because of its acci- 



dental occurrence in Greenland. The Godwits 

 are characterized by a very long and slightlv up- 

 ward-curved bill, which is grooved nearly to the 

 tip ; the shanks are partly bare ; the middle or 

 outer toes are partly webbed ; the wings are long 

 and pointed : the tail in length equals or some- 

 what exceeds the wing. Their prevailing color 

 is reddish or brownish, but there is considerable 

 variation of color according to age, sex, and 

 season. 



