THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 131 



one and a half inches long; above, rusty red, each feather 

 centrally streaked with black; hind neck, gray; wings and 

 tail, grayish brown; chin and throat, white; breast, sides 

 of head, neck and body, white, streaked with dusky; 

 whole center of belly, black, feathers often tipped with 

 white; legs and feet, black. In fall and winter the plu- 

 mage above is gray with brown streaks; the breast is light 

 gray with small brown streaks and the under parts are 

 white. 



The nest is built of grass on dry knolls about June 1. 

 The eggs are three or four in number, of a pale green or 

 brownish gray, with brown spots, and one and a half by 

 one inch in size. 



The birds breed in the far north and spend the winter 

 in the South Atlantic and Gulf coast states, some as far 

 north as Cape May county, New Jersey. They are abun- 

 dant during migrations, April 17 to May 20, and again in 

 September. 



Their food consists of worms, insects and small shellfish. 



Sandpiper, Semi-palmated, Peep, or Sand Ox- 

 eye. Length, five and a quarter to six and a half 

 inches; extent, from eleven to thirteen inches; bill, one 

 inch long, black; line over the eye, white; throat, white; 

 head and back, black or dark slate, edged with gray and 

 buff; belly and sides, white; breast, white, streaked with 

 dusky; tail and wings, brown; legs, dark ash; feet, dark 

 ash, half webbed. In winter the breast is of a lighter 

 gray and the streaks are indistinct or wanting. This 

 bird closely resembles the Least Sandpiper, with which it 

 constantly associates, but is at once distinguished by the 

 webbing at the base of toes, which is lacking in the latter 

 species. 



The nest is a mere depression in grass; the eggs are 

 generally four in number, variable in color from a gray to 

 a light yellow, with reddish spots, and one and one-fourth 

 by nine-tenths of an inch in size. 



