[2.54] BIRDS OF OREGON 



the State sparingly at least. Jewett found it in Tillamook (February 2.2.), 

 Curry (February 2.1), and Jackson (November 2.9) Counties; and Gabriel- 

 son, in Benton County (January i). Townsend (1839) first listed it for 

 the State, and Bendire (1877) gave the first breeding record. Since then 

 it has been noted by many observers and is one of the most frequently 

 mentioned water birds in all the published literature on Oregon avifauna. 



Western Solitary Sandpiper: 



Tringa solitaria cinnamomea (Brewster) 



DESCRIPTION. Adults in summer: Upper parts, including upper tail coverts and two 

 middle tail feathers, dark olive gray, finely specked with cinnamon brown; rest of 

 tail barred with white; outer quills and edge of wing deep black; under parts white, 

 streaked with dusky on chest and throat. Adults in winter: upper parts more dusky 

 and less olive, chest less streaked. Young: specking of back buffy, and dusky of 

 chest and sides tinged with buff. Wing 5.10-5.49, tail 2..i8-z.3o, bill 1.15-1.30. 

 (Adapted from Bailey.) Nest: Unknown but presumably, like that of the Eastern 

 Solitary Sandpiper, in old nests of robins, grackles, blackbirds, and jays. Eggs: 

 Unknown. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeding range presumably in northern and western Al- 

 berta, northern British Columbia, and Alaska. Known to winter in the Argentine, 

 Uruguay, Paraguay, and possibly other parts of South America. In Oregon: Uncom- 

 mon migrant, both spring and fall, in eastern Oregon. Straggler only in western 

 Oregon. 



THIS is ONE of the rarer shore birds for Oregon, and the sight of a Western 

 Solitary Sandpiper constitutes a red-letter day for any observer. Living 

 up to its name the bird usually appears alone along the banks of small 

 streams or ponds, where it frequents much the same kind of places as 

 those chosen by the Spotted Sandpiper. Mearns (1879) first recorded this 

 uncommon shore bird from Oregon from specimens taken at Fort Kla- 

 math in 1875, an< ^ Merrill (1888) reported specimens collected in the 

 same place, May 12. and August 16, 1877. It was not again mentioned 

 in Oregon literature, until Woodcock (1902.) listed it as a winter resident 

 on Yaquina Bay on the strength of reports by Bretherton. As this record 

 is not substantiated by specimens and as the species is not known to 

 winter on the Pacific Coast, we believe this to be a misidentification. 

 Willett (1919) next recorded it for Oregon from Harney County, May 10 

 and August -L^. All of our own records are for April and August (earliest 

 spring date, April 15, Klamath County; latest, April 2.9, Deschutes 

 County: earliest fall record, August i, Baker County; latest, August 2.3, 

 Umatilla County). It has been found in Umatilla, Lake, Deschutes, 

 Grant, Baker, Harney, Klamath, and Malheur Counties in eastern Ore- 

 gon. There are a number of skins in Jewett's and Gabrielson's collec- 

 tions, all from eastern Oregon, and two August birds in the United States 

 National Museum. In the files of the Biological Survey are reports by 



