Class II. LITTLE SANDPIPER. 95 



white; the greater coverts dusky, tipt with 

 white; the upper part of the quil feathers 

 dusky, the lower white; the two middle fea- 

 thers of the tail dusky, the rest of a pale ash 

 color, edged with white; the legs of a dusky 

 green; the toes divided to their origin. The 

 bill an inch and a half long, slender and black ; 

 the irides dusky. 



These birds come in prodigious flocks on 

 our sea coasts during the winter : in their flight 

 they perform their evolutions with great regu- 

 larity ; appearing like a white, or a dusky cloud, 

 as they turn their backs or their breasts towards 

 the spectator. They leave our shores in spring, 

 and retire to some unknown place to breed. 



They were formerly a well known dish at our 

 tables by the name of Stints. 



Tringa pusilla. Tr. rostro pe- variegato. Lath, Ind. orn. 20. LiTTl,E. 



dibusque fuscis, corpora sub- 737. id. Syn.v. \M, 



tus rufescente, rectricibus Montagu orn. diet, App. 



extimis scapoalbo, uropygio Arct. Zool. ii. 184. 



A HIS is the lest of the genus, scarcely equal- Dbscrip.. 

 ling a hedge sparrow in size. The head, upper 

 side of the neck, the back, and coverts of the 

 wings are brown, edged with black and pale 

 rusty brown j the breast and belly white ; the 



TION, 



