WESTERN SANDPIPER 259 



Plumages. — The downy young western sandpiper, when first 

 hatched, is richly colored in warm, bright browns and buffs, quite 

 different in appearance from the young semipalmated sandpiper. 

 Behind a broad " cinnamon buff " forehead is a large, rounded 

 crown patch extending from above the eyes to the nape, in which 

 the down is basally black, but deeply tipped " burnt sienna "; in the 

 center of this a cluster of buffy down tips produces a spot, which 

 is divided by a blackish median stripe extending down to the bill; 

 a band of pale buff, produced by down tips, encircles the sides and 

 rear of the crown patch ; there is a loral stripe and a short malar 

 stripe of black; the sides of the head and neck are " cinnamon buff "; 

 and a variable pattern of " burnt sienna " decorates the auricular 

 region, behind and above the eye. The remainder of the upper parts, 

 back, wings, rump, and thighs are a mixture of black and dark, rich 

 browns, " bay," " burnt sienna," and " amber brown," sprinkled, in 

 an irregular pattern, in the darker portions with tiny buff tips. The 

 under parts vary from pale buff on the breast to buffy white on the 

 throat and to white on the belly. The bright colors fade to dull 

 browns and grayish as the chick grows older. The first of the 

 juvenal plumage appears on the scapulars and then on the sides of 

 the breast. 



In fresh juvenal plumage, as seen in Alaska in June, the crown 

 is " sepia " with " pinkish cinnamon " edgings ; the nape is " drab- 

 gray," streaked with dusky ; the feathers of the mantle are browmish 

 black, edged with " tawny " on the back and broadly edged with 

 "tawny" and white on the scapulars; the rump, upper tail coverts, 

 and central tail feathers are " sepia " ; the other rectrices are " light 

 mouse gray"; the w<ing coverts are " mouse gray," tipped with 

 "tawny" or lighter buff; the throat and under parts are white, 

 washed on the breast with " light cinnamon-drab," and streaked on 

 the sides of the breast with dusky. This plumage fades somewhat 

 during migration and the body plumage is mostly all molted before 

 October. In their first Avinter plumage young birds can be distin- 

 guished from adults only by the wing coverts and a few retained 

 scapulars and tertials. At the first prenuptial molt they become 

 practically adult. 



Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in the summer and fall, 

 molting the body plumage in July and August and the wings and 

 tail in November or later. The prenuptial molt in March and April 

 involves only the body plumage. The fresh plumage, in April, is 

 veiled with " drab-gray " tips, which soon wear away, revealing the 

 bright nuptial colors. 



Food. — Very little has been published on the food of the western 

 sandpiper, but it probably feeds on the same things as the other 



