124 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS EGGS. 



263. Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis macularia. 



Range. Whole of North 

 throughout its range. 



America from Hudson Bay southward, breeding 



A small wader about 7.5 inches in length, with brownish gray upper parts , 

 and white underparts thickly spotted with blackish, especially on the breast and 

 flanks. This is the most abundant of all the shore birds, and its "peet-weet" 

 is a familiar sound to every country boy. It has a peculiar habit of continually 

 moving its tail up and down, when at rest on a stone or when running along the 

 shore; from these characteristic actions it has received the very common names 

 of "Teeter-tail" and "Tip-up." They build their nests on the ground near 

 ponds, brooks or marshes, generally concealing it in a tuft of grass or weeds on 

 the shore or in the high grass at the edge of the meadow. The eggs number 



NEST AND EGGS OF SPOTTED SANDPIPER. 



