656 'I'll!-: LEAvST SANDI'irER. 



;iii iiiiilTcnsix c IhhK liccausc he s])caks (Or is sik'nt in I amillicr Idiimu', and 

 will mil L;i\r us his name un ilcniand ?' 



Three Wash instil 111 a|)]icaraiu'i-s arc creditccl 111 ni\ mind in this liird. hut 

 I caiiiKit take shol-gun nalh iipdn au\- diie nf them. In Yakima C'uuuly .luriiiy; 

 August uumerdiis scalteriui; indi\iduals were eiicnuulered durius; the cmirse 

 of a long' dri\-e, as they fed hy the side of irrigating ditches or oxerflow pniids. 

 Their frightened rising occasioned a considerahle exhihition of daintx- draperv. 

 the tail in ])articnlar hemg iiuis]ireacl like a fan, and its whitening sides su])- 

 ported h\' the ahuiidant while uf the under tail-Cdxerls. 



On Jul\' 2 1 St. iqoo, Professor L_\'nds Jones and ni\self saw a siilitar\' 

 bird spending the day beside an ice-fed lake, on the shdulder nf Wright's 

 Peak, in Chelan County. L'ntrained eyes saw nuthing l)ut emerald water and a 

 frowning glacier, but the bird appeared satisfied with the entoniolngical ])ossi- 

 bilities and was disturbed not a whit 1)}- the stark loneliness. 



At Blaine the same summer we found llainl Jsand]iipers uixni the beach 

 in compam" with Westerns ( BicinicU's luaiiri). 



No. 263. 



LEAST SANDPIPER. 



A. O. U. No. 242. Pisobia minutilla 1 \ ieill.). 



Synonyms. — .\mkkicax Stint. I'i-:];!'. 



Description. — Adult in suiiiiiirr: I'ppor]iarts brownish black, relieved bv 

 fuscous on wings, hiinl-neck, etc. : the feathers more or less bordered with grayish 

 ami rusty-ocbraceous. especially on scapulars, where deeply indented, often nearly 

 to shaft; upper tail-coverts and central feathers of tail brownish black: remaining 

 tail-feathers ashy gray; sides of head, neck, and breast ashy or brownish white, 

 spotted and streaked with dusky; a few dusky streaks on sides; remaining under- 

 parts white. Jl'iiitcr pliniiai/c: Above ])lain brownish gray, black, if at all, only 

 in mesial streaks; spotting of breast near!)- obsolete, Iiiiinatiirr: Similar to atlnlt 

 in summer, but witlinut ochraceous indentations on scapular feathers; feathers of 

 back with rounded nchraceous tips, scapulars with white tijis on outer web. etc.; 

 breast not distinctly streaked. Length 6.00 ( 152.4) ; wing 3.60 (91.4) ; tail 1.70 

 (43.2); bill .80 (20.3); tarsus .73 (1S.5). 



Recognition Marks. — Warbler to S]iarrow size; least among Sandpipers; 

 most liable to be confused with Eiciuictcs piisilliis and /:. iiiauri, from which it 

 dififers in its slightly smaller size, slender liill, nmre extensively washed breast, 

 and rather darker coloration above. The absence of webs on the feet is. of 

 course, distinctive. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in Washingtuii. Xcst: on the ground. Eggs: 



