THE RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 657 



3 or 4, light drab or grayish buff, speckled and spotted with deep chestnut and 

 purphsh gray. Av. size, 1.15X.85 (29.2x21.1). 



General Range. — The whole of North and South America, breeding north 

 of the United States. 



Range in Washington. — Common migrant thruout the State. 



Authorities. — 7". ivilsoiiii. Nutt., Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IN., 1858, p. 

 J22. T.? C&S. L--. Rh. D-. D-'. B. E. 



Specimens. — ( U. of \\\ ) Prov. P.. E. 



IT is with a distinct sense of [jrix'ilege that one is permilted to gaze uiJon 

 a company of these elfin waders at meal time. Not soon shall i forget a Sun- 

 day stroll which led past the corner of a certain brick-yard pond on a iiright 

 i\Iay afternoon. A tiny babel of soft peeping had gi\'en us warning of what 

 we might expect to see, if we managed to steal up to the edge of the shallow 

 cut unobserved. By exercising care and patience, both my wife and I suc- 

 ceeded in seating ourselves on the near brink without alarming the little 

 strangers. They seemed to accept us as a part of their gracious horizon, 

 which is the birthright of both innocence and optimism. So confiding were 

 they that at a distance of thirty feet they not only went on in their quest of 

 food, but one had a sound nap on shore, a Sunday nap. with his head tucked 

 snuglv beneath his wing. 



In their search for food the Peeps apijeared to depend enlirel}' upon iheir 

 brigiit eyes to spy tidbits and unguessable delicacies in the shallow water or on 

 the oozy bottom ; and they waded about, bell_\- deep, thrusting their lieads un- 

 der water as fearlessly as ducks. There was little said except when some 

 member of the party flew further than usual, when they set up a quaint clamor, 

 which seemed like a faint echo of the far-sounding surf on Arctic seas. The 

 travellers were scrupulously neat in their habits, dividing their time about 

 equally between dabbling in the water for food and making their toilets on 

 shore. A few hours for rest and refreshment beside a prosy lirick-_\-ard pond 

 in the Southland, and then, — Heigh ho! for Point Barrow! 



No. 264. 



RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 



A. O. U. No. 243 a. Pelidna aipina sakhalina (\'ieill.). 



Synonyms. — Americax Du.xli.x. Ox-bird. 



Description. — Adult in winter: Above, nearly uniform light brownish gray, 

 the feathers slightly darker centrally, or with dusky mesial streaks ; primary- 

 coverts and w'ing-qiiills blackish ; the greater coverts white-tipped ; the inner pri- 

 maries narrowly white-edged : the secondaries increasinglv white on the inner 

 web; the tertials almost entirely white; upper tail-coverts like bark or darker, but 



