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light brown, edged with pale yellowish-white ; abdomen whitish, 

 barred with buff; upper tail coverts dark brown, tipped with light- 

 er brown ; under tail coverts white ; tail brown, margined and 

 tipped with soiled white — two middle feathers darker and longest. 

 Length eight inches, wing five and three-eighths. 



With us, the Buff- breasted Sandpiper is not a very common bird, 

 though its occurrence is by no means unusual. Almost every 

 season a {"ew are observed along the southern shores of Long Is- 

 land, and during autumn v/e occasionally find it in our marke's 

 stripped of its feathers, and exposed for sale along with the Pec- 

 toral Sandpiper, from which it is easily distinguished by ihe short- 

 ness of its bill, which is more slender, as well as much shorter than 

 that of T. Pectoralis. 



In the month of August, 1841, Mr. Brasher met with a party of 

 five, on the shore of Gowannus Bay, which number is larger than 

 I have seen in one group. He informs me that they appeared very 

 gentle, allowing him to advance within shooting distance without 

 seeming to notice his presence. At the first discharge of his gun, 

 (which procured him three, ( the surviving two made a short flight 

 over the water, returning in a few minutes to the shore, at a short 

 distance from where they had previously taken wing, which gave 

 him an opportunity of securing the whole number. 



When flying from you, they appear not unlike the Pectoral 

 Sandpiper, to which their upper plumage has some resemblance. 



