BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 289 



WESTERN SANDPIPER {Ereunetes maun). 



Length. — Same as that of Semipalmated Sandpiper, except bill, which is 

 longer, .80 to .95 in the male and 1.00 to 1.20 in the female. 



AduU in Summer. — ■ Similar to Semipalmated Sandpiper, but bill longer; 

 plumage richer in color and more rusty above, with stronger markings. 



Advlt in Winter. — • Distinguished in the winter from the Semipalmated 

 Sandpiper only by the greater length of bill and tarsus; some specimens 

 may have more rusty on the upper parts. 



Notes. — A soft weet-weet; song uttered on the wing on its northern breeding 

 grounds "a rapid, uniform series of rather musical trills" (Nelson). 



Season. — Rare fall migrant; mid July to late September. 



Range. — North and South America. Breeds along the Alaska coast; winters 

 from North Carolina to Florida and from southern Lower California to 

 Venezuela; in migration occurs mainly west of Rocky Mountains, but 

 also on Atlantic coast as far north as Massachusetts, and in the West 

 Indies. 



History. 



The Western Sandpiper is considered a rare bird in New 

 England and New York, but it has appeared abundantly on 

 Long Island and may be more common at times than the 

 records show, as in fall, when it comes here, it resembles the 

 Semipalmated Sandpiper so closely that it can be identified 

 only by measurement. 



This little Sandpiper performs a remarkable feat of migra- 

 tion. Its breeding range appears to be a narrow strip along 

 the coast of Alaska, and from this region it seems to move 

 southeasterly across the country to the coast of the south 

 Atlantic States. A little of the northern edge of its migra- 

 tion apparently laps over into Massachusetts, and it becomes 

 more common from New Jersey southward, particularly on 

 the coast from North Carolina to Florida. The peculiar part 

 of the history of its migration is that apparently it is rare in 

 the Mississippi valley region and in a great part of the in- 

 terior of the continent. Just how the main flight reaches 

 the southern coast is yet to be learned. Probably it reaches 

 Venezuela by sea from the south Atlantic coast of the United 

 States. The close resemblance of this bird to the Semipal- 

 mated Sandpiper causes it to be mistaken for that species, 

 and possibly that accounts for the scarcity of inland records. 



