252 SNIPES AND SANDPIPERS 



or less black in the centers of the feathers; breast white or ashy, not dis- 

 tinctly streaked. L., 6'00; W., 3'50; Tar., '70; B., '75. 



Remarks. This is the smallest of our Sandpipers, and can be confused 

 only with Ereunetes pusillus, from which, however, it may always be distin- 

 guished by the absence of webs between the bases of the toes. 



Range. N. and S. A. Breeds from nw. Alaska, s. Arctic islands, and n. 

 Ungava to Yakutat Bay, Alaska, valley of the Upper Yukon, n. Mackenzie, 

 cen. Keewatin, s. Ungava, N. S., and Sable Is.; winters from Calif., Tex., 

 and N. C., through the West Indies and Cen. Am., to Brazil, Chile, and the 

 Galapagos; in migration occurs throughout the U. S., and w. to ne. Siberia 

 and the Commander Islands, n. to Greenland, and in Bermuda; accidental 

 in Europe. 



Washington, uncommon T. V., May; Aug.-Oct. Long Island, abundant 

 T. V., Apl. 25 through May; July through Sept. Ossining, tolerably com- 

 mon T. V., May 9-May 22; Oct. 3. Cambridge, very common T. V., May 

 15-May 28; July 20-Sept. 1. N. Ohio, common T. V., May 5-20; Sept. 1-30. 

 Glen Ellyn, tolerably common T. V., May 4-15; Aug. 2-Sept. 5. SE. 

 Minn., common T. V. May 9; Sept. 15. 



Eggs, 3-4, pale, grayish buffy, varying to pale brownish, thickly spotted, 

 speckled, or sprinkled with deep chestnut and dull, purplish gray, 1*15 x '83 

 (Ridgw.). Date, Kadiak Islands, June 25 (Thayer Coll.). 



This, the smallest of our Sandpipers, is frequently associated with 

 its larger cousin, the Semipalmated Sandpiper, on the shores and 

 beaches, but it also visits the grassy meadows, and for this reason is 

 known by baymen as the ' Meadow Oxeye.' 



24 3a. Pelidna alpina sakhalina (VieilL). RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 

 Ads. in summer.-^- Upperparts broadly margined with rufous, centers of the 

 feathers black, wings brownish gray; breast whitish, lightly streaked with 

 blackish; middle of the belly with a large black patch, lower belly white. Juv. 



FIG. 81. Red-backed Sandpiper. (Natural size.) 



Upperparts blackish, the feathers with rounded tips of rufous or buffy; 

 breast washed with buffy and indistinctly streaked with blackish; belly 

 spotted with black. Ads. and Juv. in winter. Upperparts brownish gray; 

 middle upper tail-coverts fuscous ; wing-coverts brownish gray margined with 

 buffy; throat white; breast ashy, indistinctly streaked; belly white, the sides 

 sometimes spotted with black. L., 8*00; W., 4'75; Tar., TOO; B., 1'50. 



Remarks. There is, of course, every degree of intergradation between 

 summer and winter plumage, but the species may always be known by its 

 slightly curved bill. 



Range. N. A. and E, Asia. Breeds on the n. coast of Siberia w. to 



