158 BULLETIN 142, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Yaice. — Mr. Hanna (1921) describes the notes of this bird as 

 follows : 



If a person climbs to the sandpiper country on St. George during May or 

 June one of his first surprises will be a series of notes very much like those 

 of the flicker, a full deep whistle repeated in the same pitch about a dozen 

 times in quick succession. The bird utters this while on the wing, most likely 

 when it is coming toward the intruder with great speed. When close by it 

 wheels and settles lightly on a nearby hummock or " niggerhead." One wing 

 will be held vertically extended for a few seconds after alighting and may be 

 flashed at short intervals thereafter. Another note for which I have no 

 descriptive language always reminded me of the sound of tree frogs. It is 

 the note usually given when the birds are on the ground. While neither can 

 be called a song they are very attractive and pleasant to the listener and 

 most surprising to one familiar with the " peep peep " of sandpipers in winter. 



Field marks. — In winter the Pribilof sandpiper looks much like 

 the purple sandpiper; it frequents similar haunts and has much the 

 same habits. But its summer plumage, with its rufous upper parts 

 and mottled under parts, is strikingly different. It resembles the 

 Aleutian sandpiper in all plumages, but it is decidedly larger and, 

 in summer, its upper parts are lighter rufous and there is more white 

 in the under parts. 



Fall— According to Preble and McAtee (1923) : 



About the middle of July, when the nesting birds are freed from family 

 cares, they begin to resort to the beaches to feed, and at night gather in flocks 

 to roost on some favorite rocky point. Later the young join the adults and 

 the flocks increase in size through August. About August 9 the birds began to 

 be common about the beaches, the flocks there apparently being in excess of 

 the number breeding on the islands, and in all probability, therefore, comprised 

 in part of migrants from other breeding stations. They continued to be 

 abundant until my departure on the last of August. 



The Pribilof sandpiper is too rare and beautiful to be treated as 

 a game bird, but Mr. Hanna (1921) writes: 



The birds possess some economic importance to the natives of the Pribilofs, 

 and they have occasionally been eaten in the officers' messes. Their habit of 

 congregating in fairly compact flocks and their fearless unassuming nature 

 make them easy targets. For this reason close watch should be kept of the 

 numbers returning annually, and should any noticeable diminution take place 

 strict prohibitive measures can and should be invoked. This is possible be- 

 cause the islands are under strict governmental control as regards all wild life. 

 Because of its limited range it would not be a difficult matter to completely 

 exterminate the species. Special protective measures at this time, however, are 

 not believed to be essential because there is even less hunting now than there 

 has been for fifty or more years. The introduction of livestock and reindeer for 

 fresh food removes in large measure the necessity for shooting, and the native 

 is ordinarily too indolent to hunt unless he has to do so for food. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — Known only from the islands in Bering Sea and the 

 coast of Alaska. 



