96 
Distinctions. Resembles White-rump, but with rump dark and a more buffy suffusioa 
across front. Also considerably like Least Sandpiper, but larger. 
Field Marks. Resembles large Least Sandpiper, with buffy breast suffusion. 
Distribution. Breeds on Arctic coast across the continent. More common in migra- 
tions in the prairie provinces than on the coasts. Not uncommon in the Great Lakes region, 
scarcer farther east. 
Sandy margins and mud flats seem equally attractive to this species. 
It is often found in company with Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, 
though more independent of water than many of its family. 
242. Least Sandpiper. MUD PEEP. GREEN-LEGGED PEEP. FR.—LA MAUBECHE DE 
wiLtson. Pisobia minutilla. L, 6. Upperparts and crown, dark brown edged more or less 
broadly with various shades of ochraceous-buff and ruddy tints; white below. Across 
breast and foreneck a dark suffusion sometimes tinged with buff with more or less pro- 
nounced dark striping and spotting. 
Distinctions. Distinguished by its extremely small size from all other species except 
the Semipalmated Sandpiper, and from that by the absence of webs between the toes. 
Field Marks. Differentiated from the Semipalmated Sandpiper by the dark greenish 
instead of black colour of the legs. 
Distribution. Breeds in high latitudes across the continent as far south, in the east, 
as the Magdalen islands in the gulf of St. Lawrence. Common throughout eastern Canada 
in migration. 
One of the most numerous of Shore Birds. Probably its diminutive 
size has protected it from the sportsman, though from its dense flocks 
numbers can be obtained at a single shot. It frequents sandy beaches and 
open mud flats and is a tame and confiding bird. It associates largely with 
flocks of other species, though when disturbed separates from them to 
rejoin the company later. It arrives and leaves earlier in the autumn than 
the Semipalmated. 
243. Dunlin. RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. BLACK-HEART PLOVER. RED-BACK. AMERI- 
CAN DUNLIN. FR.—LA MAUBECHE A pos RoUX. Pelidna alpina. L, 8. Spring bird is 
too strongly marked to be mistaken for anything else. Back is dark brown so broadly 
edged with red-ochre as to be mostly red. A large more or less diffused, almost black 
spot occupies the abdominal surface. Bill slightly decurved (Figure 22, p.21). Autumn 
bird is without these striking characteristics. Upper surface is almost uniform, light 
brownish-grey suffusing across breast and lower neck. Below, and throat, white. 
Distinctions. Colour in autumn similar to Autumn Knot, but smaller size and lack of 
light semicircles of feather edges will always differentiate it even if occasional traces of 
spring plumage are not present. It may also suggest the Curlew Sandpiper, but the 
upper tail coverts are dark instead of greyish. 
Field Marks. In spring—red back, and black spot below are evident. In autumn— 
even grey back and, when flying, a line of white on the wing. Slight but distinct down- 
ward bend of bill also helps identification. 
Distribution. Including the European form, the species is cireumpolar. The American 
Dunlin, the Red-backed Sandpiper, nests on the Arctic coast locally across the continent. 
It is a common migrant throughout eastern Canada. 
SUBSPECIES. The New World representative of the Dunlin is a subspecific race, 
the Red-backed Sandpiper or American Dunlin P. a. sakhalina, which is distinguished from 
the Old World form only by its slightly larger size. 
This bird frequents sand-bars, mud flats, or salt meadows. It is 
among the latest of the Shore Birds to arrive both spring and autumn. 
244. Curlew Sandpiper. Lrolia ferruginea. L, 8. Small red-breasted Sandpiper. 
Autumn birds greyish-brown above and white below. 
Distinctions. Resembles the Knot or Dowitcher in having red breast, but much 
smaller and of more slender build. 
