BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 275 



History. 



The White-rumped Sandpiper was known formerly as Bona- 

 parte's or Schintz's Sandpiper. 



Dr. Coues (1874) calls it a very abundant bird along the 

 whole Atlantic coast, from Labrador to Florida. It is not so 

 to-day. Warren rates it as rare in Pennsylvania. Stone (1908) 

 calls it apparently rather scarce on the New Jersey coast, and 

 Wayne (1910) rates it as a rare transient on the coast of South 

 Carolina, and he has seen it but once in autumn. It is signif- 

 icant that Dr. Coues spent considerable time in earlier days on 

 the coast of South Carolina as well as on other parts of the 

 Atlantic coast. The bird is still common in migration in fall 

 on parts of the Massachusetts coast, and occasionally so inland, 

 particularly along the Connecticut River. Eaton (1910) calls 

 it common on Long Island and less so in New York. 



Stearns says that it is the common Sandpiper of Labrador, 

 where it is called the Sand-bird. As it does not now visit our 

 shores in large numbers, the majority probably fly by us at 

 sea on their way to South America. This bird seems to be 

 more numerous in Maine than here, but many are found here 

 at times about the little ponds and sloughs in our salt marshes, 

 where they are confounded sometimes with the Grass-birds by 

 the gunner. When found on the shore they are seen most 

 often along rocky beaches. They are quite gentle little birds 

 and very tame where they are undisturbed. On the beaches 

 they are found in company with the Semipalmated Sandpiper, 

 which is the common Peep of the beach. When disturbed 

 by the gunner they fly rapidly, circling about and turning 

 first the upper parts and then the under parts to view. At 

 such times the white under bodies flash and gleam in the sun- 

 light, and then the darker backs are turned, showing the white 

 upper tail coverts to the observer. On the mud flats they 

 wade often breast deep into the flowing tide, and are driven 

 from the flats only when the water becomes too deep for 

 them. At high tide they collect with other species on ledges 

 above water, on the higher parts of the beach, or on the drift 

 grass and seaweed in some corner of the marsh, where they 



