156 FEATHERED GAME 
on the drifting ‘‘thatch’’ in the quietest corners 
of the marsh. When pushing for rails the gun- 
ner often interrupts their noon-day nap, almost 
driving his craft over them before they take 
wing, returning at once when the boat has 
passed. 
The spring migrations take place during 
April and May, and they nest far into the north. 
It is usually as late as August fifteenth before 
they begin to arrive in any numbers in New 
England marshes, where they stay well into 
October. 
The most common of the Sandpipers here are 
the Least and the Semipalmated. Both these 
little fellows range over a large part of our 
hemisphere, the latter travelling from the West 
Indies, Central and South America to the ex- 
treme north, mainly on the eastern slope of the 
continent. The Least Sandpiper is even more 
of a wanderer, for besides covering the same 
wide range of country as his cousin he finds time 
to visit Europe occasionally. 
The Least Sandpiper as we see him in his 
summer dress is colored above with dusky 
brown and black through the centres of the 
feathers, the edges tinged with reddish brown 
