124 



OKNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 13-No. 8 



TtuU T date of October 4, saiiie year. I find 

 "Pectoral Saiidpipeis coiiiraon;"' and later, 

 Oct. 22, " F(innd only f<inr Pectorals on tlie 

 meadows to-day." 



This i)resent year (18S7), altliough oTily a 

 few stopjied, three were seen on the meadows 

 as late as Nov. 1. I think very few ornithol- 

 ogists are aware of the protracted stays made 

 by some of our shore birds in the autumn. 1 

 was surprised this last fall, on date of Novem- 

 ber 14, to find several small flocks of Black- 

 bellied I'lovei-, Sanderlinos and Ked-backed 

 .Sandpipi'rs aliout the fiats, as we had been hav- 

 ing some iMild, blustering weather with snow 

 squalls. On the ('ape it does not go on to the 

 sandy beaches and flats, but frequents wet, 

 fresh and salt meadows and marshes. Its 

 favorite resorts are salt meadows or marshes, 

 near the shore, on which the grass has been 

 cut, and wliich after a raiu is covered with 

 shallow pools of brackish water. Its food 

 consists principally of small shell fish and 

 worms. They also eat sniiill grasshoppers and 

 crickets which are very numerous on the 

 meadows. Their flight and action when 

 Hushed are mui-li like the Wilson's Snipe, and 

 1 mentioned it in the O. & O., Vol. XI, No. 1, 

 Ijage 10. Several old gunners at the Cape say 

 that thei'eare two distinct varieties, basing their 

 int'ereuce on the difference in the size of the 

 birds. I had sujiposed until this last fall that 

 they were adult and young, liut on examining 

 some of largest birds, I found both adult and 

 young among the number. There is certainly 

 a great dift'erence in the size, the former being 

 more delicately formed, less connnon, and are 

 more frequently seen on the fresh meadows and 

 marshes some distance from the shore. 



White-rumped .Sandpiper, Triui/a fasricoUh 

 (Vieill.) Peep; Sandpiper on Cape Cod. A tol- 

 erably connnon autumn migrant. Like preced- 

 ing species, this biid is a rare visitor on Cape 

 Cod in the spring. All of the writers of New 

 Kngland ornithology have described it as being 

 abundant in its migrations. It may be in some 

 portions of New England, but it is certainly 

 not so on Cape Cod, or the islands off the Cape. 

 In its southern migration, the first ones arrive 

 at the Cape about Sept. 1. Individuals con- 

 tinue to arrive until the last of the month, and 

 fr<im this period until Oct. 5 they are the most 

 common. None are seen after Oct. 15. It fi'c- 

 quents the wet meadows and marshes near the 

 shore, feeding on small insects aud shell fish. 

 It shows no preference to the marshes, being 

 as often seen on the sand flats and beaches. 



On the flats it is seen singly, or in small 

 flocks n)ixing with other sandpipers, feeding 

 along the edges of channels and the receding 

 tide water, on such tiny worms, fleas, and 

 shell fish as they may find there. 1 have never 

 seen more than eight in a flock. They some- 

 times go on to the high beach to rest during 

 high tide. 



Least Sandpipei', Tringa minuHlhi. (Vieill.) 

 Pee)) or I?umbleb(;e on Cape Cod. An abundant 

 spring, summer and autumn migrant. The 

 first comers reach the Cape the last week in 

 April or first in May, becoming abundant about 

 May V,i, and lemaining so until June 1. The 

 first ones fi'om the north come about .luly 6, 

 becoming connnon July 15, and increasing at 

 intervals during August and September. It is 

 the most numerous about the last of August. 

 ,\ few stragglers remain into October. In the 

 spring they are .seen in pairs or small parties of 

 fiom six to twenty, and seem to be in a hurry 

 to continue their northern journey. In the 

 sunnuer and autumn they are in no hurry, and 

 gather in large flocks on and along the edges 

 of marshes, nmddy flats and creeks and pebbly 

 beaches, in search of small worms, aquatic in- 

 sects and tiny shell fish, which they eagerly 

 devour. They are very numerous on the 

 marshes at Barnstable, Dennis, and Brewster, 

 in the summer and autumn, after the grass has 

 been mown. 1 remember when quite a small 

 boy what sport 1 had in one of the above 

 meadows during the haying season while after 

 these little snipe. Often in my eagerness to 

 reacli a flock on the meadow, I got into a nuiddy 

 slough-hole up to my waist, but that was soon 

 forgotten if I made a successful shot. 



As we walk out on the marsh, we see several 

 of these graceful little birds about the edge of 

 a muddy pool, sticking their bills into tlie soft 

 nmd after small worms and insects. If we stop 

 and look carefully around, we will see some of 

 the little fellows only a few yards distant 

 from us, standing perfectly still, their little 

 black eyes watching every movement we make. 

 As we start on, one springs up with a faint 

 cry, and as he goes skimming away he is joined 

 by other individuals that we had not noticed, 

 which get up out of the grass near by. As they 

 continue their flight twisting and diving, they 

 are reinforced into a good sized flock liy com- 

 panions from ditterent portion of the marsh, 

 and rising to a considerable height they circle 

 about seveial times aud come flying back, often ^ 

 alighting upon the same place that they started 

 from. 



(To be continued.) 



