DIRECTORY TO BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 69 



spotted with dusky ; beneath, pale cinnamon somewhat mot- 

 tled with lighter, marked with a number of rounded spots 

 and some bars of dusky ; bill, brown ; feet, greenish, fig. 81. 

 Winter, gray above; lower back and rump as in summer; 

 white beneath, grayish on lower neck and sides where there 

 are slight bandings and spottings of dusky. Young, differ 

 from the last in being darker above where all of the feathers, 

 excepting on lower back, rump and upper tail coverts, are 

 edged and banded with yellowish-rufous; beneath, tinged 

 with reddish-buff. Note, a mellow whistle uttered when the 

 bird rises and when it is on the wing; this call is often fol- 

 lowed by one or two others which are low and querulous. 

 An unsuspicious species which, although sometimes found 

 singly, more often occurs in flocks, some of which are very 

 large, and fly in compact form. Eastern N. A; breeding far 

 north ; pass south, chiefly along the coast in July and Aug. ; 

 winters from the Carolinas to the West Indies and Brazil; 

 come north in May ; abundant at this season in Fla. and the 

 Bahamas but not as common further north. 



2. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, M. SCOLOPACEUS. Dif- 

 fers from 1 in being deeper in color beneath, where there are 

 no blotches. Western N. A. breeding in Alaska to the Arctic 

 coast ; migrating south through western U. S. (including the 

 Mississippi Valley ) and less commonly along the Atlantic 

 coast to winter in Mexico; time of migration same as in 1. 



b. Long-legged Sandpipers. Micropalma. 



Very long legged birds with slightly webbed toes, slen- 

 der, somewhat sensitive tipped bills w,hich are not as long as 

 in a, fig. 88. Similar in general habit to a and frequent sim- 

 ilar places. 



1, STILT SANDPIPER, M. HIMANTOPUS. 9.00. bill, 1.60 ; 

 tail, white ; remaining upper parts dusky-brown streaked and 

 banded with pale buff ; patch on side of head, light rusty ; 

 beneath, white, banded with dusky ; bill, brown ; feet, green- 

 ish. In winter rather grayer above and dull white beneath 

 without bandings ; no reddish spot on side of head, fig. 88. 

 Young, rather more buffy above than the last and with a buff 



