370 GAME BIBBS OF CALIFORNIA 



Marin County, a pair, September 14, 1896 (J. Mailliard, 1904, p. 15); San 

 Francisco Bay, October 8 (1883) (Kobbe in Bailey, 1902, p. 1); Farallon 

 Islands, September 4, 1884 (Cooke, 1910, p. 36); Santa Barbara, September 9, 

 1910, one seen April 14, 1910, also seen on seven dates between August 18 and 

 September 20, and one daily from August 20 to September 20, 1911 (Bowles 

 and Howell, 1912, p. 8), three individuals at most, September 17 to 23, 1909 

 (Torrey, 1910a, pp. 44-45), August 20, 1913; La Patera (near Santa Barbara), 

 August 25, 1915, and Elkhorn, Monterey County, October 11, 1913 (Dawson, 

 1916, p. 25). 



The Pectoral Sandpiper is a rather rare migrant in California. 

 The main migration route of the species lies east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains and it seems that only a few stragglers, probably birds of the 

 year, occur along the Pacific coast. Bowles (1911, pp. 171, 172) states 

 that during a residence of fourteen years in Washington he saw in 

 all onlj^ about one hundred birds of this species, although he cites 

 the observation of J. M. Edson at Bellingham who saw thirty or 

 forty individuals on one day. This Sandpiper is evidently even less 

 common in California, else the assiduous collecting which has been car- 

 ried on along our shores, especially in southern California, would have 

 yielded more instances of occurrence. 



Cooper (1868, p. 8) thought that the Pectoral Sandpiper occurred 

 not rarely in his day about San Francisco Bay in winter, though no 

 corroborative evidence has been subsequently obtained. Kobbe (in 

 Bailey, 1902, p. 1) lists the species from San Francisco Bay, on the 

 basis of a specimen taken by "W. E. Bryant, October 8 (1883). This 

 we believe to be the same example which was reported by Bryant 

 (1887a., p. 78) under the name Tringa fuscicollis. A pair of birds 

 was taken September 14, 1896, at Mill Valley Junction near Sausalito, 

 Marin County (J. Mailliard, 1904, p. 15). A specimen was taken on 

 the Farallon Islands, September 4, 1884 (Cooke, 1910, p. 36). Other- 

 wise the species has been recorded only at Santa Barbara where a 

 number of observers have noted it. The only spring occurrence was 

 one individual on April 14, 1910, but in the fall it has been seen on 

 different dates from August 20 to September 23, never more than 

 three at one time (Torrey, 1910a, pp. 44-45; Bowles and Howell, 

 1912, p. 8). 



For field identification a combination of characters must be 

 depended upon. The moderately small size (somewhat less than that 

 of a Killdeer), the short bill about as long as head, the strongly con- 

 trasted dark area on fore-neck and breast, with its finely streaked pat- 

 tern on close view, and the blackish rump and upper tail coverts, are 

 the chief characteristics. The preference of the species for meadow 

 land, and its snipe-like behavior, are two additional criteria. From the 

 nearly related Baird Sandpiper it may be distinguished, though with 

 some difficulty, by its larger size, longer and lighter-colored bill, paler 



