Sbore-bird Shooting 389 



gray, striped with brown ; rest of under parts, white ; iris, brown ; 

 bill, feet, and legs, black ; feet, slightly palmated. This always 

 distinguishes them from the least sandpiper. 



Adult in winter — Similar to the summer plumage, but the breast 

 and lower parts are white, only slightly tinged with gray. 



Young — Similar to the summer adult plumage, but breast is tinged 

 with pale grayish buff and is without well-defined streaks or 

 spots; scapulars are bordered with white; the brown on the 

 upper parts is usually lighter. 



Downy young — Crown, chestnut; rest of upper parts, fulvous brown, 

 spotted with black and white ; forehead, whitish ; black line in 

 centre of forehead and on lores ; throat, fulvous white ; rest of 

 lower parts, white. 



Measurements — Length, 6 inches; wing, 3.75 inches; culmen of 

 male, .68 to .75 inch, of female, .80 to .95 inch (Ridgeway) ; 

 tarsus, .85 inch. 



Eggs — Four in number; ground color, a light gray, thickly spotted 

 with reddish and dark sepia, chiefly on the larger end ; measure 

 1.20 by .85 inches. 



Habitat — Breeds from Labrador and Hudson Bay to the Arctic 

 Coast at the Anderson River, and along the coast to Kotzebue 

 Sound, Alaska, and possibly south in the interior to Assiniboia, 

 and a set of eggs believed to belong to this species has been 

 taken in Connecticut. Winters from the Bahamas and the 

 West Indies, possibly Florida and Texas, to Central America, 

 Brazil, and Patagonia. Abundant in North America east of the 

 Rocky Mountains in migration, and in British Columbia east 

 of the Cascades ; occurs also on the coast of California and Brit- 

 ish Columbia, and has been taken on the Pribilof Islands and 

 Bermuda, and occurs in Florida in summer. Accidental in 

 Europe. 



With the least sandpiper this bird comprises 

 the flocks of peep found along the eastern coast 

 — now in many of the former haunts about all 

 that is left of the shore-bird family. Arriving on 

 our shores toward the end of July, they swarm 



