154 



RED-BACKED SANDPIPER 

 243. Pelidna alpina sakhalina. 8 in. 



Bill slightly decurved and rather stout. Adults in 

 mmmer, with the upper parts largely bright rusty; 

 belly black; head, throat, breast and sides strongly 

 streaked with black. In winter, dull brownish-gray 

 above and white below, with the breast washed with 

 rayish and slightly streaked with dusky. Found in 

 " ' J ~-ific coasts, dur- 



t 

 t 



act as if governed by one impulse. They are very 

 active, feeding for a short time in one place, then flying 

 _ to another. They are found most abundantly on sand 



bars and mud flats, rather than on the open beach. 



Nest. Usually on dry, grassy knolls, a hollow in the 



earth being lined with a few dried grasses. Eggs pale 

 greenish or brownish gray, spotted with blackish. (1.40 

 x 1.00) ; June. 



Range. Breeds in the Arctic regions, and winters 

 from the Gulf coast and southern California, southward. 



