5i2 THE RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 



on the oozy bottom; and they waded about belly deep, thrusting their heads 

 under water as fearlessly as ducks. There was little said except when some 

 member of the party flew further than usual, when they set up a quaint clamor, 

 which seemed like a faint echo of the far-sounding surf on Arctic seas. The 

 little travelers were scrupulously neat in their habits, dividing their time about 

 equally between dabbling in the water for food and making their toilets on 

 shore. A few hours for rest and refreshment, beside a prosy brickyard pond 

 in old Ohio, and then, Heigh ho! for Hudson Bay! 



No. 236. 



RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 



A. O. U. No. 243a. Pelidna alpina pacifica (Coues.). 



Synonyms. AMERICAN DUNLIN; OX-BIRD. 



Description. Adult in winter: Above, nearly uniform light brownish gray, 

 the feathers slightly darker centrally, or with dusky mesial streaks ; primary-cov- 

 erts and wing-quills blackish ; the greater coverts white-tipped ; the inner primaries 

 narrowly white-edged ; the secondaries increasingly white on the inner web ; the 

 tertials almost entirely white ; upper tail-coverts like back or darker, but the lateral 

 feathers white or white-edged ; an impure whitish superciliary line ; sides of head 

 and neck and across fore-neck and breast like color of back, but lighter ; the color 

 distributed centrally from the feathers, giving a faintly streaked appearance ; re- 

 maining under parts white, or with a few gray streaks on sides ; bill longer, stout, 

 slightly curved near tip, black; feet and legs black. Adult in summer: Upper 

 parts black centrally with broad margining of bright rusty ochraceous ; wings as 

 before; breast, etc., grayish white, faintly streaked with dusky; belly black, 

 strongly contrasting with breast; crissum, etc., white. Immature: "Upper parts 

 blackish, the feathers with rounded tips of rufous or buff ; belly spotted with black" 

 (Chapman). Length "7.60-8.75" ( 193. -222. 3) ; av. of six Columbus specimens: 

 wing 4.70 (119.4) ; tail 2.29 (58.2) ; bill 1.50 (38.1) ; tarsus .99 (25.2). 



Recognition Marks. Chew-ink size (considerably under Killdeer size) ; 

 bright rufous of back and black of belly distinctive, but seldom seen in Ohio. 

 Soft brownish gray of upper parts and breast ; rather long black bill, slightly 

 curved near tip, distinctive for plumage commonly seen. 



Nesting. Does not breed in Ohio. Nest, on the ground. Eggs, 4, dull 

 brownish buff, or clay color, ("bluish- white to ochraceous-buff" Chapman) 

 spotted, blotched and stained, chiefly about the larger end, with chestnut and choco- 

 late. Av. size, 1.43 x i.oi (36.3 x 25.7). 



General Range. North America in general, breeding far north. Eastern 

 Asia. 



Range in Ohio. Rare spring and common fall migrant. More common on 

 Lake Erie. 



WE are disposed to grumble a little at times because of the encroach- 

 ments of civilization, and especially for the lessening opportunities afforded 



