101 



Distribution. Breeds in Arctic Siberia. Of only casual occurrence in eastern Canada 

 More records from the Atlantic coast than inland, though there is one from lake Ontario. 



An Old World form occasionally seen in the New World. Said to 

 resemble the Red-back in habit, but too scarce in eastern Canada to be 

 looked for as a regular visitor. Any record of this species should be founded 

 on definite specimens and subjected to a rigid scrutiny. 



Genus — Ereunetes. Semipalmated Sandpipers. 



246. Semipalmated Sandpiper, black-legged peep. pe. — la maubeche semi- 

 palmee. Ereunetes pusillus. L, 6-30. Upperparts, including crown, dark brown 

 edged with light ochraceous or buffy; all white below, with vague band slightly darker 

 across the chest with obscure streakings and spots. 



Distinctions. Very similar in size and coloration to the Least Sandpiper, from which 

 it cannot always be distinguished except by close examination. The toes, However, have 

 small webs between their bases, giving the bird the name Semipalmated. 



Field Marks. Differentiated from the Least Sandpiper by its slightly larger size, 

 purer grey ba k, and whiter, more clearly lined breast. Legs and feet are black instead 

 of dark olive green. 



Distribution. Breeds along the eastern Arctic coast south to southern Labrador. 

 Common in migration throughout eastern Canada. 



Very similar in habit as well as appearance to the Least Sandpiper, 

 page 100. The Western Sandpiper Ereunetes mauri is a closely allied form 

 that may be only a subspecies of the Semipalmated Sandpiper. It is 

 distinguished by a slightly longer bill and a larger amount of red on the 

 back, especially on the hindhead. Its occurrence in the Great Lakes region 

 is very doubtful. 



Genus — Crocethia. Sanderling. 



248. Sanderling. fr. — le sanderling. Crocethia leucophoea. L, 8. In spring — 

 upperparts, including crown, dark brown variegated with much light rusty ochre or white, 

 or both. Below, white. Throat, neck, and upper breast overwashed with more or less 

 reddish-ochre and spotted with brown. The details of these colourings are exceedingly 

 variable. The back may show enough of the various colours to make it either generally 

 greyish, ochraceous, or rusty, and the coloured and spotted throat may be nearly immacu- 

 lately white. The autumn bird is similar without much buffy or any reddish or ochra- 

 ceous tint, it is pure white below and in front, and often predominantly grey to light 

 ashy above. 



Distinctions. From traces to strong washes of rusty on neck and around head in the 

 spring and the general whiteness in autumn. The Sanderling can be told from all other 

 Sandpipers by having three toes instead of four. 



Field Marks. Rufous suffusion about the head in some spring birds, general con- 

 trasting black and white appearance on the wing, and line of white along the bases of 

 flight feathers in all plumages. The pure white breast in autumn is also characteristic. 



Distribution. Breeds on the islands of the Arctic west to Alaska. A common migrant 

 on sandy shores throughout eastern Canada. 



A bird of sandy shores, seldom frequenting mud flats. One of the most 

 beautiful and interesting of the small Shore Birds. It haunts the edge of 

 the water, following each retreating wave, and rapidly running back again 

 before its return, threatened every moment to be engulfed in the surf but 

 always just escaping. As the birds fly out over the blue water, the sun 

 shining on their glistening plumage, they are a beautiful sight; at one 

 moment turning their daintily coloured black and white backs and the next, 

 as though moved by a single impulse, banking on a wide wheel and showing 

 the pure glistening white of their underparts. 



