2i8 AMERICAN ORNITHOLGY. 



HABITS. 



The "Peet-weet" of the Spotted Sanppiper is a famihar sound to every- 

 one who has traversed the fields near some body of water. Well known 

 too is their habit of teetering and the names "Tip-up" and "Teeter-tail" 

 are both suggestive of this habit. Why they indulge in this performance 

 is a mystery. It can hardly be a sign indicative of either anger or pleas- 

 ure as the same exercise is repeated at frequent intervals either when 

 alarmed or when supposedly they are contented, as when they are feed- 

 ing. I have watched a "tip-up" for fifteen or twenty minutes, standing on 

 a lone rock some six or eight feet from shore, turning this way and that, 

 and appearing to make the most profound bows of admiration to his re- 

 flection in the water. The sandpiper is an affectionate parent and holds 

 very closely to her nest, and if forced to leave feigns lameness. They 

 rarely fly in a straight line, but make a wide curve from one point on the 

 shore to the other. At the commencement of their flight their wings are 

 flapped with a slow but powerful motion and barely raised above the level 

 of the back. Before alighting they sail with fixed pinions for some dis- 

 tance. One June day as I was silently riding my wheel along a country 

 road, I heard the low musical -'peet-peet" of a sandpiper. 1 dismounted 

 and walking carefully up to the stone wall looked over. Evidently the 

 field had been cultivated the year before, for grass was lacking and only a 

 few weeds together with numerous stones covered the ground. As the 

 call was repeated, I located the sound and saw one of the prettiest sights 

 to be imagined; — that of a Sandpiper and three young. The little ones 

 were not far enough advanced in sandpiper ways to have acquired the 

 teetering habit, but they did know how to catch insects. Now and then 

 two of them would spy a wholesome grub at the same instant and a lively 

 race would ensue. To the credit of the loser in the race, it may be said 

 that he accepted his defeat in good humor, unlike many children 1 have 

 seen. Wishing to become more closely acquainted, I climbed carefully 

 over the wall. The watchful eye of the mother perceived me at once, 

 and a warning note sent the little ones scampering in all directions, and 

 they concealed themselves so that if I had not watched one of them close- 

 ly, I should not have found any. Going directly to the spot where I had 

 seen one disappear 1 found him nestling closely to the side of a stone, and 

 perfectly motionless. He was a cute little ball of gray down, streaked 

 with black. When I released him, he ran about four feet and hid himself 

 effectively beneath a weed. 



