264 ANIMAL LIFE IX THE YOSEMITE 



ground bobs hinder parts of body down and up everj-^ second or two. Voice: A clear, 

 whistle-like tveet or v^eeter, uttered three or more times in quick succession. 



Occurrence. — Summer visitant, irrespective of altitude, along sandy or pebbly shores 

 of lakes and smooth-flowing streams; seen often along Merced Eiver up as far as 

 Yosemite Valley; also on Tuolumne Eiver below Lagrange, on Tuolumne Meadows, and 

 on shores of Mono Lake. 



Most of our stream-side birds seem inclined to seclude themselves 'in the 

 thick deciduous growths which line the water courses ; but the Spotted 

 Sandpiper, gleaning its food at the water's edge, lives almost entirely in 

 the open. Along the river in Yosemite Valley, wherever the banks are 

 gently sloping and sandy or pebbly, and on the broad reaches of the 

 Tuolumne as it winds through the lower part of the Tuolumne Meadows, 

 this bird may be seen or heard almost any hour of the day during the 

 summer time. Excepting for the Killdeer, this sandpiper is the only 

 representative of the large and far-ranging group of shore birds to be 

 found regularly in the Yosemite section. 



Along the Tuolumne River below Lagrange, in early May, 1919, two or 

 more Spotted Sandpipers were in evidence all through the day and until 

 dusk of evening. At one sandy place at the river's edge the tracks of 

 the birds were to be seen after each fall of the river. At this time the 

 birds were trilling often. W eet-weet-iveet-weeter-weet was one call heard. 

 On May 18, 1919, a bird flushed from the river margin near Camp Curry, 

 in Yosemite Valley, gave a loud peeV-peef-peeV and a few moments later 

 a fainter, much more musical weeter, iveeter, iveeter, iveeter. 



On the morning of June 2, 1915, in Yosemite Valley, when the Merced 

 River was swollen bank high by the melting snows of the higher mountains, 

 three Spotted Sandpipers were seen foraging on a high beach near Stone- 

 man Bridge. They moved about in the shallow water at the edge of the 

 river or on the gravel, never farther than a foot or two from the water, 

 walking rapidly for a few steps, and then stopping abruptly to procure 

 some morsel of food sighted among the stones. While a bird was thus 

 occupied, the hinder portion of its body was continually bobbed down and 

 up at regular intervals of a second or two, and while it was walking the 

 head underwent a rapid fore-and-aft movement in unison with the tread 

 of the feet. 



Two of the birds seemed by their actions to be males. It was just at 

 the beginning of the mating season at this altitude, and considerable 

 rivalry evidently existed between them. In one tilt, after much manoeuver- 

 ing, one of these birds drove the other away. Meanwhile the third bird, 

 presumably a female, unconcernedly went on feeding in the vicinity. 

 After routing his rival the successful suitor approached the female and 

 strutted about her, holding his body in a peculiarly erect posture, and 



