166 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



This species is common along the coast from about the last 

 week in July through August, a few remaining even until late 

 October, while in spring they occur generally in May and 

 rarely to mid June. They are general about the various interior 

 bodies of water in fall, though not to be called common inland. 



They are tame unsuspicious little birds, feeding along the 

 shores and in the muddy flats and marshes in fair sized flocks, 

 often intermixed with their friends, the Semipalmated Sand- 

 pipers. Their food consists of small worms, insects and small 

 mollusks. When flushed they utter a "tweet, tweet" and fly 

 a short distance in a compact flock. Dr. Dwight (Mem. Nutt. 

 Orn. Club, 2, p. 18) writes of this species as having a love 

 song which is delivered on the wing and which consists of a 

 repetition of two syllables uttered very rapidly with an intona- 

 tion like the spring note of our common toad. He states that 

 on Sable Island the nest is placed in the dry turf and that the 

 males assist in incubating the eggs. They remain upon the 

 nests until nearly trodden upon when away they go with every 

 appearance of being badly crippled until, having diverted 

 attention from the nest, they rapidly recover. 



The eggs are large for the size of the species, measuring 1.15 

 X 0.83 (Ridgw.). They are pale grayish bufly or pale brownish 

 thickly spotted with deep chestnut and dull purplish gray. 



Genus PELIDNA Cuvier. 



243a. Pelidna alpina pncijicn (Coues). Red-backed Sand- 

 piper; American Dunlin; Black-bellied Sandpiper; Ox Bird; 

 Leadback; Blackbreast; Redback. 



Plumage of summer adults : above black, the feathers broadly margined 

 with rufous ; wings grayish ; below white with a black patch in middle of 

 belly and dusky streaks on breast. Plumage of winter adults: brownish 

 gray above with buffy margins to the wing coverts ; middle tail coverts fus- 

 cous ; breast ashy with faint streaks ; other lower parts white. Immatvure 

 plumage : blackish above with rounded lighter tips to the feathers ; belly 

 spotted and breast faintly streaked with black; breast with buffy tinge. 

 Wing 4.50 to 5.00; culmen 1.60; tarsus 1.05. 



