18 BULLETIN FERGUS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL 



places in the county. This species is the well known "jack snipe" of 

 eastern sportsmen. It appears early in the spring, and in the fall it 

 lingers until the middle of October or later. It frequents the wet mar- 

 gins of the streams and the boggy spots of the meadows. Its erratic, zig- 

 zag course in flight, and its harsh call resembling the syllable "scav," ut- 

 tered as it wings its way from the gunner to a place of safety, serve to 

 aid the novice in identifying this species. 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts blackish,, varied with light 

 buffy markings; under coverts of wings conspicuously barred with bluish 

 gray; length 10-12 inches. 



232. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. Macrorhamphus scolopaceus. 



Occurs in migration. Dr. Elliott Coues says that nowhere did he 

 find the "gray-back" so abundant as in the alkali region along the Upper 

 Missouri. 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts chiefly streaked with light 

 reddish-brown and darker colors; lower parts chiefly light reddish-brown; 

 rump and upper tail coverts chiefly white, barred with darker; tail gray, 

 barred with white; length 11-13 inches. 



239. PECTORAL SANDPIPER. Actodromas maculata. 



A common migrant. It generally appears early in March, and clings 

 to the edges of the open water-courses for several weeks. In the fall it 

 appears early in August, and lingers until about the end of October. On 

 October 18, 1900, a single specimen was taken on an irrigating ditch in 

 the edge of Lewistown. On April 22, 1901, a solitary pectoral sandpiper 

 was observed on the dry bench at dusk, where it was feeding from a heap 

 of refuse. On Feb. 22, 1903, a pectoral sandpiper was noted on Big Spring 

 Creek near Lewistown. This species is commonly known hereabout as 

 the "jacksnipe." 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts dark buffy, striped with black; 

 lower parts white; length 8-10 inches. 



241. BAIRD'S SANDPIPER. Actodromas bairdii. 



A very common migrant, appearing in this locality on its southward 

 movement about the first of September, and lingering along the pond shores 

 until the middle of the month. 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts spotted with brownish black 

 and grayish yellow; lower parts below chest white; length 7-8 inches. 

 242. LEAST SANDPIPER. Actodromas minutilla. 



A very abundant migrant, lingering for several weeks in suitable 

 places. A solitary individual of this species was taken on a small pond 

 near my home at Lewistown, August 22. The next day a flock of six or 

 seven was noted on the pond. They were lurking in the grassy margin In 

 preference to wading in the water's edge, and permitted a closer approach 

 than other sandpipers except the spotted. August 28, least sandpipers 

 were about the pond in small numbers. On September 4, I noted that least 

 sandpipers were in greater numbers. When watched, they huddle In 

 groups of five or six on a little weedy point, crouched facing the wind. 



