THE SANDERLING 169 



worth the ammunition necessary to its capture 

 and is a very fair bird for the table — that is, 

 enough of them are. It comes readily to call, 

 whether of ^'peep," ''ringneck," or other of 

 its acquaintances, for it is very sociable in its 

 nature, and the gunner who is seeking the in- 

 gredients for a shorebird pie can not do better 

 than use these birds for material. 



He is a plump and ''chunky" little fellow, his 

 build and figure reminding us of the "beetle- 

 head." The fall adult and the young of the 

 year are not so brilliantly colored as are the 

 spring birds. For the most part the fall coat 

 is made up of modest and sober colors — gray, 

 black and white. The breeding dress is 

 brighter, the upper parts mottled with ashy, 

 black, and light reddish brown, with these col- 

 ors also on the sides of the neck and throat, 

 the black in broad areas through the centres 

 of the feathers, the light colors on the edges 

 and tips. A white area at the base of '^ach of 

 the inner primaries, together with the greater 

 part of the secondaries, also white, make a con- 

 spicuous mark of this color when the wing is 

 spread. Rump and upper tail coverts dusky 

 with fine edgings of white. Bill and feet black. 



