DESCRIPTIVE LIST 131 



breast not distinctly streaked. Ads. and Juv. in winter. Upperparts brownish gray, some- 

 times with more 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 distinguished by the absence of webs be- 

 tween the bases of the toes. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.} 

 , Range. Breeds in Arctic America; winters from North Carolina to Brazil. 

 k Range in North Carolina. Transient throughout the State; common in the coastal region 

 in migration, and also to some extent in winter. 



FIG. 93. 



FIG. 92. LEAST SANDPIPER. FOOT or LEAST 



SANDPIPER. 



This is probably our most numerous sandpiper. Moving in compact flocks, both 

 on the wing and when feeding, it is the joy of the pot hunter who counts his bag 

 by numbers slain. Sometimes thirty to forty are killed at a single discharge of a 

 shotgun. It is a trim, neat little inhabitant of the sea-beaches and mud-flats, both 

 on the coast and inland. Usually it is found associated with that very similar bird, 

 the Semipalmated Sandpiper. 



During the migrations it is found, not infrequently, as far west as Raleigh, 

 usually in May. On the coast it occurs in great numbers, and is often called "Sea 

 Chicken," and "Peep." 



Intermediate in size between this species and the preceding is Baird's Sandpiper, Pisobia 

 bairdi (Coues), which breeds in the Arctic regions, and winters in southern South America. 

 In the migrations it is common in the central portions of the United States, and occurs also 

 irregularly on both coasts. 



Genus Pelidna (Cuv.) 

 111. 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 belly with a 

 large black patch, lower belly white. Juv. 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., 1.00; B., 1.50. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



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. Breeds in Arctic America and Siberia; winters from New Jersey to Texas and in 

 southeastern Asia. 



Range in North Carolina. Coastal region in winter. 



The Red-backed Sandpiper is found on our coast throughout the year, with the 

 exception of the time it is away on its northern nesting-grounds, from late May 



