SCOLOPACIDiE— THE SNIPE FAMILY. 53 



membrane extends beyond the second. There is a tendency to 

 hexagonal subdivision in the bare portion of tibiae anteriorly. 

 The tail is doubly emarginate. 



Two species are known, the common Semipalmated Sand- 

 piper or "Peep," and a northwestern relative. 



Ereunetes pusillus (Linn.) 



SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. 



Popular synonyms. Peep; Ox-eye; Bumble-bee. 



Tringa pusilla Linn. S. N. ed. 12, i, 1766, 252. 

 Ereunetes pusillus Cass. Proe. Acad. Nat. Sei. Phila. xiii, 1860, 195.— CouES.Key, 1872, 

 254; Check List, 1874, No. 417; 2d ed. 1880, No. 612; Birds N. W. 1874, 481 (part).- 

 Ridgw. Norn. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 541; Man. N. Am. B. 1887, 161.— A. O. U. Cheek 

 List. 1886. No. 246. 

 Ereunetes pusillus, a, pusillus B. B. & R. Water B. N. Am. i, 1884, 205. 

 Ereunetes petrificatus Illig. Prodr. 1811, 262 (Bahia).— Cass, in Baird's B. N. Am. 1858, 



724 (part).— Baied, Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 535. 

 Tringa semipalmata Wils. Am. Orn. vii, 1813, 131, pi. 63, flg. 3.-Sw. & Rich. F. B.-A. 

 ii, 1831, 381.— Aud. Orn. Biog. v, 1839, 111, pi. 408; Synop. 1839, 236; B. Am. v, 

 1842, 277. pi. 336. 

 Tringa (Eeteropoda) semipalmata Nutt. Man. ii, 1834, 136. 



Hab. The whole of North and Middle, and a considerable portion of South America; 

 throughout the West Indies, Bermuda; south to Colombia and Brazil; breeding chiefly, if 

 not exclusively, north of the United States. 



Sp. Char. Adult, breeding plumage: Uppersurface light grayish brown, the sides ofthe 

 pileum and edges of some of the scapulars and interscapulars tinged with pale buff y cinna- 

 mon, but this sometimes almost wholly absent ; pileum heavily streaked, and dorsal region 

 heavily spotted with black, the latter color occupying the central portion of each feather. 

 A streaked white superciliary stripe, and dusky loral space, the latter usually very dis- 

 tinctly denned along its upper edge, the lower part broken into streaks, which extend back- 

 ward across the cheeks; auriculars streaked grayish brown. Lower parts pure white, the 

 jugulum and breast tinged with ashy and streaked with dusky. Winter plumage: Above 

 brownish gray, relieved by dusky shaft- streaks; superciliary stripe and lower parts pure 

 white, the jugulum faintly streaked. Young: Similar to the summer adult, but jugulum 

 tinged with pale grayish buff, and without well-defined streaks or spots, the scapulars and 

 interscapulars bordered terminally with white, and the brown usually less rusty. Downy 

 young: Forehead dingy white, divided by a mesial line of black; crown light chestnut, 

 marbled posteriorly with black and white; occiput mottled whitish. A distinct loral line of 

 black, forking just before the eye, the upper branch running toward the anterior corner of 

 the eye, the other inclining downward. Throat fulvous- white; other lower parts whitish, 

 nearly pure on the abdomen. Upper parts pale fulvous-brown laterally, blank centrally, 

 the whole surface thickly bespangled with one white tufts, terminating the down-filaments. 



Wing, 3,50-4.00(3.88); culmen, .68-.92 (.77); tarsus, .80-. 95 (.86); middle toe. .65-.6S (.61). 

 [Eighteen summer adults measured, i 



This is perhaps the mosl abundanl of bhe Sandpipers during 

 the migrations, when several hundred may sometimes be seen 

 in a single flock. Its habits are so much like those of other 

 species that no special description is required. 



