THE SPOTTED SANDPIPER. 



{Actitis macularia.') 



Across the narrow beach we flit, 



One little sandpiper and I ; 

 And fast I gather, bit by bit, 



The scattered driftwood, bleached and dry, 

 The wild waves reach their hands for it. 



The wild wind raves, the tide runs high, 

 As up and down the beach we flit — 



One little sandpiper and I. 



— Celia Thaxter, "The Sandpiper." 



Few birds have a more extensive range 

 or are better known than the little 

 Spotted Sandpiper. From Alaska and 

 Hudson Bay, on the north, it is found 

 throughout the whole of North America 

 and in winter it flies as far as southern 

 Brazil. Its nest is also well known, for 

 it breeds practically throughout the 

 whole of temperate North America. 

 Though more common in the interior, 

 'where it frequents the banks of streams, 

 ponds and lakes, it also visits salt water 

 beaches. On the Gulf coast of Florida 

 this species may be seen in large num- 

 bers feeding at low tide among the mat- 

 ted roots. At the rise of the tide they 

 fly to the branches of neighboring trees 

 where they perch in small groups and 

 wait for the receding of the water, when 

 they again begin feeding. 



This little bird is burdened with a 

 number of common names which are 

 more or less descriptive of its habits. 

 Some of these are Sand Lark, Sand 

 Snipe, Tip-up, Teeter Tail, Teeter Snipe, 

 Peet-weet and River Snipe. It is a 

 graceful bird in all its motions, whether 

 flying, rapidly running along the sandy 

 beaches or standing, when it "bobs, 

 bows and teeters in a most energetic man- 

 ner." It is this bobbing and tilting 

 movement of its body and tail that has 

 made the Spotted Sandpiper known to 

 "every lazy fisherman and idle school 

 boy who has whiled away many a 



balmy and hot summer day along the 

 banks of streams." This habit, too, has 

 inspired the poet. Of this Sandpiper, 

 Mr. John Vance Cheney has written : 



Slim, unbalanced bird, 



A-tip upon the sands, 

 Here's a friendly word, 



A mental shaking-hands. 



Ludicrous enough, 



But not more so than I; 



Of such teet'ring stuff 

 Is all mortality. 



The short, sharp notes of the Spotted 

 Sandpiper, sounding like peet-weet or 

 weet-weet, are uttered as it flies. When 

 flushed, it flies over the water to the 

 opposite shore or to a point on the beach 

 directly in advance of the intruder. If 

 followed, it usually returns to the first 

 point, either by flying in a wide circle 

 or directly back. Mr. Abbott has ob- 

 served that in many instances, if the bird 

 is persistently followed it v.ill fly back 

 and forth between two points, so strong 

 is its dislike to leave a certain locality. 



This Sandpiper usually builds its nest 

 on rather high ground, often at some 

 distance from water. It is usually 

 placed in a thin tuft of grass under a 

 shrub. As a rule, the eggs are not well 

 concealed and sometimes they may be 

 readily seen at a distance from the nest. 

 Altitude is not a bar to the selection of 

 a nesting site. In Colorado this bird 

 frequents the streams and lakes at a 



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