SHORE BIRDS 139 



to identify its author, which appears outhned against the 

 sky as a mere speck. Presently the bird volplanes to the 

 earth and runs nimbly over the grass in a most unconcerned 

 manner. 



The four large, pear-shaped eggs rest in a grass-lined 

 cavity with their points together. The background of the 

 egg varies from creamy-buff to a decided clay color. The 

 eggs are marked with spots and blotches of dark brown and 

 lilac. 



SPOTTED SANDPIPER 



The Spotted Sandpiper, Tip-up, or Peetweet is proba- 

 bly the commonest and most familiar of our small wading 

 birds. It is a typical representative of the large family of 

 shore birds, and is found from Brazil northward to the Arc- 

 tic regions about Hudson Bay and upper Alaska. They 

 breed throughout their North American range, spending 

 the winter about the Gulf Coast and southward. Scarcely 

 any of our artificial lakes or lagoons in our parks are with- 

 out a pair of these restless httle birds. They run swiftly 

 over the pebbly beaches, calling in shrill whistles " peetweet " 

 incessantly, as they tilt the body forward and backward. 



They habitualh" fly so close to the water as barely to 

 keep the tips of their long wings from touching. So par- 

 tial do they become to certain spots along the shores, that, 

 if disturbed, they return to the spot from which they were 

 originally disturbed, as soon as the intruder has passed. 



The eggs are laid during the second and third week of 

 May. Grassy or weedy spots close to the Avater's edge are 

 covers under which the female scratches a slight hollow, 



