202 Mr. Peabody on the 
WADING BIRDS. 
The SanperLING, Calidris arenaria, is an au- 
tumnal and winter visiter, which arrives from its 
northern breeding places in August, and spreads 
along the coast from Maine to Florida. "They are 
seen in flocks, running in the face of the waves, and 
uttering a plaintive whistle, as they gather the small 
shell fish, insects, and other minute animals, with 
which the beach abounds. This bird obtains much 
of its subsistence by inserting its bill obliquely in 
the sands; it does this with great activity, and when 
the tide is going down, great numbers of the holes 
which are made by this process, are seen upon the 
wet beach. "They can run very fast upon the sands; 
their flight is rapid, but they generally alight at no 
great distance from the spot whence they started. 
When they return to us in autumn, from the northern 
regions, they are in good order for eating, and their 
flesh is much esteemed. 
"The Brack necxep Hinr, Himantopus nigricollis, 
if known at all in Massachusetts, appears only as an 
accidental visiter. Dr. Brewer tells me that a bird, 
somewhat answering to the description of this, has 
been seen occasionally near New Bedford, but pe has 
never obtained a specimen. dá & 
The dote aco rolas Hematopus pal- 
liatus, is found along our whole Atlantic coast, but 
more rarely in New England than in other parts of E 
