128 BULLETIN - 142, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



The broad white stripe over the eye is conspicuous in any plum- 

 age and the whitish tail shows in flight, as different from the whitish 

 triangle on the rump and back of the dowitcher or the white rump 

 of the yellowlegs. Most of these field marks, however, are too subtle 

 for easy recognition, unless seen under favorable circumstances. 



Prof. William Eowan has sent me the following notes: 



Identification marks of the stilt are excellent and it is quite an easy bird to 

 spot in almost any circumstances. It has a rump pattern all to itself and is 

 therefore readily detected in flight. The end of the tail is darker than that 

 of a yellowlegs, but the white of the rump end, instead of forming a straight 

 line across the back, is horseshoe shaped. Although the turnstone and semi- 

 palmated plovers are reminiscent, they are quite distinct and not to be con- 

 fused. When wading — the birds prefer to be belly deep — the carriage of the 

 head makes the species unmistakable. The bill is always held and thrust 

 beneath the surface perpendicularly. This necessitates a straight neck. In 

 profile the feeding individual can be mistaken for no other sandpiper, is quite 

 distinct from the yellowlegs, and can really only be confused with a phalarope. 

 The Wilson phalarope habitually wades in this part of the world, swimming 

 only occasionally, but its markings are distinctive. A flock of stilts is the 

 most characteristic sight and the species can be identified at a great distance. 

 The curious position of the head just referred to and the crowding of the 

 individuals into each other make a quite unmistakable combination. They 

 feed practically shoulder to shoulder, seldom scattering. The yellowlegs of a 

 flock are always scattered, and the general aspect of the individuals is entirely 

 different. Stilts never bob their heads after the manner of yellowlegs. 



Fall. — The fall migration of adults begins very early, coming along 

 with the dowitchers and first summer yellowlegs. I have an adult 

 female in my collection, taken on July 5, 1885, on Monomoy Island, 

 Massachusetts. The main flight of adults comes along during the 

 latter half of July and first half of August, in this State, and the 

 young birds come through in August and September; but this is a 

 rare bird here, and the flight generally lasts for only a few days. 



Mr. Nichols tells me that: 



On Long Island the stilt sandpiper is usually uncommon, occurring in small 

 numbers often closely associated with lesser yellowlegs or dowitcher. Rarely it 

 occurs in great waves or flights as on August 12, 1912. This flight was made 

 up exclusively of adult birds, so far as the writer's observations went. For 

 the remainder of that season the species was unusually common. If, in 

 ordinary years, some 200 stilt sandpipers are present on Long Island in south- 

 ward migration, there were probably 3,000 in 1912. The earliest I have seen 

 this species south on Long Island is July 10, 1921, two or three or more indi- 

 viduals associated with 40 or 50 lesser yellowlegs. 



In the interior this species is commoner than it is on the Atlantic 

 coast. Mr. Harrold says that in Manitoba it is fairly common in 

 the fall, adults being noted as early as July 5 ; the young birds are 

 usually with the lesser yellowlegs in the fall. Mr. Hersey collected 

 a series for me in Manitoba between July 18 and 29, 1913. Stilt 

 sandpipers were formerly sold in the markets, mixed with bunches of 



