4o<) FiHi.i) Mi'siu'M oi- Natural Histokv Zoology, Vol. IX. 



Ailiill ill •a'inlcr: Similar, hut i);ik'r. 



Iiinihiliiiw Resembles the aduU, l)ul has the feathers of the back 

 and win.u; coverts tipped with white. 



Letii^th, 7.40; wing, 4.50 to 4.90; tarsus, i; bill, i. 



Baird's Sandpiper occurs regularly in small numbers in Illinois 

 and Wisconsin during the migrations in spring and fall, usually in 

 Mav, August and September. 



117. Pisobia minutilla (VifvILl.). 

 Least Saxi)1>iim:r. 



Tringa minutilla Vieill., A. O. U. Cheek List, 1895, ]j. 89. 

 Local name: Peep. 



Distr.: North America; south throughout South America in win- 

 ter, breeding chiefly north of the United States. 



Adult in summer: Very small; upper parts, marked with tawny 

 black and pale buff; under parts, whitish on the throat, shading into 

 ashy gray, and showing faint brownish lines on the breast; rest of the 

 under parts, white; bill, dull black; no web between toes. 



Adult in winter: Similar to the above, but 

 grayer in color. 



Length, 5.50 to 6.50; wing, 3.60; tarsus, 

 .75; bill, .85. 



This species is common during the migrations 

 in May and August in Illinois and Wisconsin, 

 and occasionally birds remain during the sum- 

 mer and may have bred. We have no pub- 

 lished record of the eggs actually having been taken in either state. 

 On June 5, 1875, Mr. Nelson observed a bird of this species build- 

 ing a nest near the Calumet River. It was not completed but "The 

 birds were noticed several times in the vicinity and they probably 

 had a nest in some safer spot." (Birds N. E. Illinois, 1876, p. 127.) 

 Kumlien and Hollister say: "We have known of at least tw^o in- 

 stances of this bird nesting within the state and from specimens seen 

 in various parts of the north and central portions of the state, suspect 

 that at least twenty years ago it bred in some numbers." (Birds of 

 Wisconsin, 1903, p, 47.) 



