222 BULLETIN 142, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



May 3, and was very common when I left, May 24. Mixed flocks of this species 

 and western sandpipers must have contained 6,000 or 7,000 birds. 



Herbert W. Brandt in his manuscript notes says : 



The red-backed sandpiper is one of the most abundant shore birds inhabiting 

 the Hooper Bay region, confining itself almost entirely to the low-lying flats. 

 The Eskimos first reported this hardy species on May 10 and two days later we 

 collected our first specimen at Point Dall. They were common in loose flocks 

 by May 15 and abundant by May 20. At that time they were often associated 

 with the Aleutian sandpiper, to which, in the field, they bear a marked re- 

 semblance. Soon after the later date the flocks disintegrated into mated 

 couples and they then repaired to their lowland breeding haunts. 



Courtship. — Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) gives an attractive account 

 of the courtship of this species, as follows : 



Soon after they arrive in spring they are engaged in pairing, and the males 

 may be seen upon quivering wings flying after the female and uttering a 

 musical, trilling note, which falls upon the ear like the mellow tinkle of large 

 water drops falling rapidly into a partly filled vessel. Imagine the sounds 

 thus produced by the water run together into a steady and rapid trill some 

 5 to 10 seconds in length, and the note of this sandpiper is represented. It is 

 not loud but has a rich full tone, difficult to describe, but pleasant to hear 

 among the discordant notes of the various waterfowl whose hoarse cries arise 

 on all sides. As the lover's suit approaches its end the handsome suitor be- 

 comes exalted, and in his moments of excitement he rises 15 or 20 yards, and, 

 hovering on tremulous wings over the object of his passion, pours forth a 

 perfect gush of music, until he glides back to earth exhausted, but ready to 

 repeat the effort a few minutes later. The female coyly retreats before the 

 advances of the male, but after various mishaps each bird finds its partner 

 for the summer and they start off house hunting in all the ardor of a rising 

 honeymoon. 



Mr. Brandt in his manuscript notes describes it a little differently, 

 thus : 



The red-backed sandpiper, often called the American dunlin, arrives in flocks, 

 the individuals of which are apparently not all mated. A female will jump up 

 and be immediately pursued by two to five males, and as they all twist about, 

 in and out, twittering all the time, the alternate flashing of their reddish backs 

 and black lower parts seems like the signals of the telegraphic code. The 

 males appear never to catch the females, but to try to keep as close to them as 

 possible. When they alight again in the flock whence they started they at 

 once resume feeding without further display. The thrilling song of this dainty 

 bird is delivered while hovering with quivering wing beats in mid-air. It 

 appears as if both male and female carry on the vocal effort, which sounds some- 

 thing like the cheery tinkling of ice in a glass, and ends with a real lover's note 

 dear, dear, dear. This is repeated again and again and is one of the pleasant 

 characteristic songs of the marshy grass-woven flats, where the discords of 

 waterfowl prevail. After the fastest male has captured his elusive sweetheart 

 the two retire to their chosen place on the flats to take up their more serious 

 duties. Here the female lays her eggs, often in a situation that is moist, and 

 never very far from a small pond or slough. 



