Aleutian sandpiper 163 



young leave the nest as soon as they are strong enough to run, but 

 remain with their parents until they are fully fledged in their first 

 winter or ju venal plumage and ready to fly in August. 



Plumages. — The downy young Aleutian resembles, in color pat- 

 tern, the young purple sandpiper, but can easily be recognized by its 

 warmer and richer browns. The upper half of the head is " warm 

 buff," shading off to " pale buff " on the lores and cheeks and to pure 

 white on the throat and neck. A median black stripe is broad on 

 the crown, tapering to a point at the bill; loral and malar black 

 stripes converge at the bill; the rest of the upper head is spotted or 

 striped with black. The nape is a mixture of dull buff and dusky. 

 The back, wings, and thighs are variegated with black, " ochraceous 

 tawny " and " warm buff," everywhere sprinkled with conspicuous 

 dots, terminal tufts, of buffy white in an irregular pattern; there is 

 a more or less well-defined black patch in the center of the back, 

 varying in different individuals, centrally veiled with " burnt sienna " 

 tips. The entire under parts are pure white. 



In the juvenal plumage the center of the crown is blackish brown, 

 with " ochraceous tawny " edgings ; the rest of the crown and nape 

 are " deep mouse gray " ; the feathers of the back are brownish black, 

 broadly edged with " tawny " or " ochraceous tawny " ; the scapulars 

 and all the wing coverts are deep sepia, broadly edged with colors 

 varying from " tawny " to buffy white, whitest on the coverts ; the 

 under parts are white, with a broad band of pale buff across the 

 throat and breast; the flanks are somewhat tinged with the same 

 color; the throat, breast, and flanks are more or less heavily marked 

 with median dusky streaks. This plumage is worn through July and 

 part, or all, of August. The post juvenal molt of the body plumage 

 begins in some birds about the 1st of August, but in others not until 

 two or three weeks later. This produces a first winter plumage 

 similar to that of the adult, but distinguishable by the faded juvenal 

 wing coverts and a few retained scapulars and tertials. 



The partial prenuptial molt of both young birds and adults cornea 

 rather late in the spring, April and May, and involves the body 

 plumage and some of the wing coverts and scapulars. Adults also 

 have a complete postnuptial molt, beginning in August and lasting 

 until October. The winter plumage is similar to that of the purple 

 sandpiper, but it is conspicuously marked on the breast and flanks 

 with large triangular or circular spots of dusky, whereas the purple 

 sandpiper usually has a plain gray breast in winter. 



Food. — Very little seems to be known about the food of the 

 Aleutian sandpiper, but probably its diet is very similar to that of 

 the purple sandpiper, Avhich has similar feeding habits. Both 

 species are fond of frequenting rocky shores and stony beaches, 



