384 The Water-fowl Family 



Chesapeake they are very abundant, reaching 

 Florida in late fall. On the spring migration the 

 birds are common as far north as Virginia, but 

 much rarer on Long Island and the New England 

 coast than in the fall. I have seen them abun- 

 dant in May at Cobb's Island, where flock after 

 flock followed low down over the surf, lighting 

 on the beach at the water's edge, and feeding 

 frequently in company with the redbreast. On 

 the flats they were never in as large numbers. 

 The full spring plumage of the red-backed sand- 

 piper is very unlike the fall, and in the two differ- 

 ent attires the birds would scarcely be recognized 

 as the same species. The bright red back and 

 soft black breast are a pleasing combination. In 

 this dress the flocks reach the breeding-grounds. 

 These are in Alaska about the mouth of the 

 Yukon, along the shores of Bering Sea, on 

 the Melville Peninsula and the northern portions 

 of the eastern Arctic regions. Early in June nest- 

 ing is begun, and the birds become exceedingly 

 active in their devotion to each other, the note 

 at this time resembling the sounds of frogs in 

 New England in early spring, and is heard every- 

 where on the tundra. While mating, Mr. Nelson 

 says, the males pursue the females through the 

 air, uttering a musical trilling note which sounds 

 like " the mellow tinkle of large water-drops falling 

 rapidly into a partly filled vessel" Later, as his 



