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TRINGA PUSILLA— WILSON. 



WILSON'S SANDPIPER. 



Little Sandpiper. Tringa pusilla, Wild. Amcr. Orn« 

 Tringa pusilla, Bonap. Syn. 



Wilson's Sandpiper, Tringa Wihonii, Null. Man. 

 Li. Ue Sandpiper, Tringa pusilla, Aud. Orn. I3:og. 



Specific Character — Bill along the gap three quarters of an inch, 

 slender; tarsi three quarters of an inch; legs yellowish-green. 

 Adult with the bill brownish-black ; upper parts of the breast gray- 

 brown, mixed with white ; back and upper parts black ; the whole 

 plumage above broadly edged with bright bay and yellow ochre ; 

 primaries black — greater coverts the same, tipped with white ; tail 

 rounded, the four exterior feathers on each side dull white — the 

 rest dark brown ; tertials as long as the primaries; head above 

 dark brown, with paler edges ; over the eye a streak of whitish ; 

 belly and vent white. Length five inches and a half, wing three 

 and a half. With many of our birds, we observe that individuals of 

 the same species vary in length, extent, and sometimes differ slight- 

 ly in their bills, even with those which have arrived at maturity. — 

 On consulting Ornithological works, we notice that there are no 

 two writers, whose measurement is in all cases alike. With speci- 

 mens of the Wilson's Sandpiper, we find in their proportions great- 

 er discrepancy than in many other species — and out of these differ- 

 ences we are inclined to the opinion that two spurious species have 

 been created. 



This— the smallest of our Sandpipers — is said to breed within 

 the Arctic circle. It is a very common species, and though not so 

 plentiful as the former, is distributed along the whole coast. They 

 collect in large flocks, and resort to the great masses of drifting sea- 

 weed, and are also observed along the shores and sedgy borders of 

 salt ponds, gleaning minute shell-fish and marine insects, in compa- 

 ny with the Semipalmated Sandpiper. 



