-""- SANDEhLWO 



DIMENSIONS. 

 ATonigeinpasurcinerits of specimens from Eastern North America. Length, 10'50;stretcl!, '-iO'SO; winn.e'Sa, tiiil,Si'65? 

 Bill, 1'3^3; txrsus, i-20. L mg-st speci-.iien. 1 1'OJ; gre.ite-t extent of wing, 2l-0l>; 1 mga=it wing, 6 50; tail, 80; bill, 1-40,. 

 tarsus, 1 4;i. Sliorte^t spceim^^Q, lOcO; smallest e.\tenti;f wing. -JO-OO; sliortest wing, 6-00; tail, 2-.50; bill, 1 "Jo; tarsus, l-QO. 



HABITS. 



Ill {bnuer yetirs, the Red-breasted Stiudpipers, Knots or Gray Backrf, as they arc more 

 commonly Ciilk^d, were very abundant aloni;- our borders, appearing in immense flocks, but 

 now they are far from numerous and it is rare to see more thiin a dozen together. These 

 handsome birds frequent the beaches and probe in the mud at low tide, then at high tide, 

 return to the hmg sand spits to rest. [ have always found them very shy in iiutumn and 

 difiicult to obtain. This is a maritime species, sehlom, if ever, being found in the interior. 

 Audubon slates that s:)ine speml the winter iu Plorid.i but I have never seen one in the State 

 nor (b) I think that tliey occur there now. In autumn, they seem to be generally distrib- 

 uted along the coast, appearing in August and remaining until late in September, but in 

 spring, they move northward very quickly, entering Massachusetts in May with the other 

 returning shore birds. At this season, they occur commonly on the South Shore but I nev- 

 er met with them n(u-th of Cape Ann, nor do I think that they are found there, at least, in 

 any numbers. 



(lENUS VI. CALIDRIS. THE THEEE-TQED SANDPIPERS. 



Gen. Ch. Bi// cbnut as lomj as head, straight and sli<jhtly expanded at tip. Coracoids, cxcecdmy m lenyth the hciijht oj 

 keel. Marginal indentations four: outer twice as deep as inner. Hnid toe, absent. 



The legs are m vcr fcry long. The stomach is euboid in form, quite mu-cular, and is lined -vrith a liard rugose mcir.- 

 br.mc. Pr.ivcntrieulu^ m;drrate. Intrsiincs, large rnd ^liort with the cocca quite long. Sterno-tracliealis not stout and. 

 tlie:e is a sliglt bronol-.i.d s, l)ut no other laryngeal mus les. Tym|)nnifjrm membrane, present l>ut there is no os trans- 

 Tersale. Sexes. q,uite simLUir. There is but one species within oar limits. 



CALIDRIS ARENAKIA. 

 Sanderling. 



CaliJris arenaria Ii.L., Prod.. 1811,249. 

 OESC'RIl'TION. 

 Si'. Cu. Konii, robust. Size, large. Tongue, rather fleshy, not homy, about the same width for two thirds its ter- 

 minal length, tl en abruptly pointed. 



Color. Adult in summer. Above, dark-brown, every feather, excepting primaries, edged with white and rufous. 

 Tail, a.shy, tippe<i with white and with middle feathers, darker. Tips of greater wing C(jverts and base of wing feathers,, 

 white. Under | arts, white, strongly tingeil anteriorly with yellowish-rufous, spotted with dark-hrown. 



Adult in irinter. I'a'.e asliy abi>Te, spotted with dark-brown and in patches with yellowLsh-rufous. Beneath, white, 

 with some sp it< of rufous on the anterior ptirtions, otherwise as in the summer adult. 



Younij. Dark-brown above, spotted with white and tinged with yellow which extends to sides of breast, otherwise, 

 similar to the winter adult. Bill and feet, Mack, iris, brown, in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Kn:iwn frcrii all others T)y the absence of the hind toe and general pale cjlors as described. Distributed, in summer, 

 through. lut Arctic Americii; wintering from the Carolinas, southward. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average ni'Msiiremenls of specimens from Eastern North America. Length, 8-35; stretch, 'l.^-G.'i: wing, 4-90; tail, 

 3-05:bill, I'O.'j; tarsus, -9.5. L<mgest specimen, 8-7.5; greatest extent of wing, ie-25; longest wing, 5 50; tail. '2-25; bill, 1-20;. 

 tarsus, 1 10. S'lortest specimen, 7-75; smallest extent of wing, 15-00; shortest wing, 4-40; tail, 1-85; bill, -90; tai-sus, -80. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 

 E(/</f, jilaced on the gnmrnl in a slight depression of the soil, on a little grass, etc. They are fnmi two to four in num- 

 ber, pyriform in shape, varying from dark ashy-yellow to greenish-brown in color, .spotted and blotched with brown of va- 

 rying shades. Dimensions from. -JO ^ l-:i5 to -4.5 x L- 15. 



