LEAST SANDPIPEE 377 



lining of wing white; broad baud across throat and chest, and sides, pinkish 

 buff, with shaft streaks of blackish brown; belly white; flanks and under 

 tail coverts white w^th narrow streaks of brown; feet pale olive green. Adults 

 and immalures, both sexes, in fall, winter, and early spring: Distinguishable from 

 adults in summer chiefly by lack of tawny and buffy markings; top of head 

 and most of upper surface ashy brown with darker centers to feathers; sides of 

 head pale ashy brown; chin white; rump, upper tail coverts, tail, and wing 

 as in summer; broad band across throat, and sides, light ashy gray, narrowly 

 streaked with brown; rest of under surface white. Males: Total length 5.50- 

 5.87 inches (139.5-149.0 mm.) (seven specimens); folded wing 3.25-3.45 (82.4- 

 87.5); bill along culmen 0.65-0.73 (16.5-18.5); tarsus 0.68-0.78 (17.3-19.7) 

 (ten specimens). Females: Total length 5.50-6.30 (139.5-160) (nine specimens); 

 folded wing 3.34-3.46 (84.6-88.0); bill along culmen 0.68-0.78 (17.2-19.8); 

 tarsus 0.72-0.78 (18.3-19.8) (ten specimens); all from California and Alaska. 

 Juvenile plumage: Similar to that of adult in spring and summer but markings 

 more blended; wing coverts throughout margined with pale tawny; chin, 

 flanks and lower tail coverts, white, unmarked; breast band obscurely streaked. 

 Natal plumage: Forehead and side of head buffy white; chin and throat white; 

 stripes up middle of forehead and between bill and eye, black; bill black; top 

 and back of head, and rest of upper surface and flanks, of mixed reddish 

 brown and black, with many feather tippings of buffy white, the whole pro- 

 ducing a pepper-and-salt effect; under surface white; breast faintly washed 

 with buff; legs and feet (dried) brown. 



Mark.s for field identification — Very small size (our smallest shore bird) ; 

 slender bill (fig. 67), not longer than head; ashy, drab or buffy band on breast, 

 narrowly streaked with brown; slender toes, cleft to bases (fig. 69). 



Voice — A plaintive pe-et, pe-et, or wheet, sometimes quavering, when uttered 

 by isolated individuals; faint peeps among members of a foraging flock. 



Nest — On marshy ground or damp upland, usually a short distance from 

 water; a slight depression in the vegetation lined with a few leaves and grass 

 blades (Moore, 1912, p. 211). 



Eggs — 4, pear-shaped, measuring in inches, 1.04 to 1.18 by 0.79 to 0.87 (in 

 millimeters, 26.5 to 30.0 by 20.0 to 22.0), and averaging 1.14 by 0.83 (29.0 to 

 21.0) (65 eggs in IT. S. National Museum); ground color light drab, thinly 

 spotted with sepia brown, grayish brown or ashy; markings more numerous 

 and bigger about larger end (Baird, Brewer and Eidgway, 1884, I, p. 240). 



General distribution — North and South America. Breeds northward to the 

 Arctic coast from a line through Kotzebue Sound, southern Yukon, southern 

 Mackenzie, central Keewatin, northern Ungava, and Labrador, to northeastern 

 Quebec; also on the Magdelen Islands and Sable Island. Winters from central 

 California, southern Arizona, southern Texas and Georgia south to (northern?) 

 Chile, Peru, and Brazil (south to latitude 7° S). Occurs in migration through- 

 out area between breeding and winter ranges (Cooke, 1910, pp. 41-42). 



Distribution in California — Abundant fall and spring migrant throughout 

 the state; remains through the winter in fair numbers in lowlands from lati- 

 tude of San Francisco southward. Migrants arrive from the north mostly 

 during August and September and depart for the north again during April 

 and early May. A few non-breeding birds sometimes occur here during June 

 and July. 



The Least Sandpiper, or Peep, is, perhaps, the most abundant 

 species of shore bird in North America. During migration it is widely 



