to 
THE RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 
on the oozy bottom; and they waded about belly deep, thrusting their heads 
under water as fearlessly as ducks. ‘There was little said except when some 
member of the party flew further than usual, when they set up a quaint clamor, 
which seemed like a faint echo of the far-sounding surf on Arctic seas. The 
little travelers were scrupulously neat in their habits, dividing their time about 
equally between dabbling in the water for food and making their toilets on 
shore. A few hours for rest and refreshment, beside a prosy brickyard pond 
in old Ohio, and then,—Heigh ho! for Hudson Bay! 
No. 236. 
RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 
A. O. U. No. 243a. Pelidna alpina pacifica (Coues.). 
Synonyms.—AMERICAN DUNIIN; OX-BIRD, 
Description.—Adu/t in winter: Above, nearly uniform light brownish gray, 
the feathers slightly darker centrally, or with dusky mesial streaks; primary-cov- 
erts and wing-quills blackish; the greater coverts white-tipped ; the inner primaries 
narrowly white-edged; the secondaries increasingly white on the inner web; the 
tertials almost entirely white; upper tail-coverts like back or darker, but the lateral 
feathers white or white-edged; an impure whitish superciliary line; sides of head 
and neck and across fore-neck and breast like color of back, but lighter; the color 
distributed centrally from the feathers, giving a faintly streaked appearance; re- 
maining under parts white, or with a few gray streaks on sides; bill longer, stout, 
slightly curved near tip, black; feet and legs black. Adult in swmmer: Upper 
parts black centrally with broad margining of bright rusty ochraceous; wings as 
before; breast, etc., grayish white, faintly streaked with dusky; belly black, 
strongly contrasting with breast; crissum, etc., white. Jimmature: “Upper parts 
blackish, the feathers with rounded tips of rufous or buff ; belly spotted with black” 
Recognition Marks.—Chewink size (considerably under Killdeer size) ; 
bright rufous of back and black of belly distinctive, but seldom seen in Ohio. 
Soft brownish gray of upper parts and breast; rather long black bill, slightly 
curved near tip, distinctive for plumage commonly seen. 
Nesting.—Does not breed in Ohio. Nest, on the ground. Eggs, 4, dull 
brownish buff, or clay color, (“bluish-white to ochraceous-buff”’—Chapman ) 
spotted, blotched and stained, chiefly about the larger end, with chestnut and choco- 
late. Av. size, 1.43 x 1.01 (36.3) x 25.7). 
General Range.—North America in general, breeding far north. Eastern 
Asia. 
Range in Ohio.—Rare spring and common fall migrant. More common on 
Lake Erie. 
WE are disposed to grumble a little at times because of the encroach- 
ments of civilization, and especially for the lessening opportunities afforded 
