COMMON SANDPIPER. 543 



species is not found on the Continent of North America, 

 though it has been sometimes so stated. 



The beak of the Common Sandpiper is dark brown towards 

 the point, pale yellow brown at the base ; the irides dusky 

 brown ; from the beak to the eye a brown streak, over that, 

 over the eye, and over the dark coloured ear-coverts, a light 

 coloured streak ; the top of the head, back of the neck, the 

 whole of the wing-coverts, the back, upper tail-coverts, and 

 the four central tail-feathers, greenish brown, mth a dusky 

 greenish black stripe across the centre, and along the line of 

 the shaft of each feather ; wing primaries almost black, with 

 a greyish white patch on the inner web of all but the first ; 

 the secondaries tipped with white ; the tail graduated, the 

 central feathers being the longest, and all twelve barred with 

 greenish black ; the four outer tail-feathers on each side tip- 

 ped with white ; the two outer tail-feathers on each side with 

 the outer webs white, barred with greenish black ; the chin 

 white ; the sides of the neck and the upper part of the breast 

 streaked with dusky black, on a ground colour of pale ash ; 

 the lower part of the breast and all the other parts of the 

 under surface of the body of a delicate and uniformly un- 

 spotted white, hence the systematic specific name of the bird ; 

 the legs and toes, ash green ; the claws, brown. 



The whole length of the bird seven inches and a half. 

 From the carpal joint to the end of the wing, four inches and 

 one quarter ; the first quill-feather the longest. 



Young birds of the year have the front of the neck white, 

 with dark streaks on the sides only ; the white streak over 

 the eyes more conspicuous ; the wing-coverts darker in co- 

 lour ; the feathers on the back edged with reddish buff, 

 spotted with black. 



