THE GRASSBIRD 159 
THE GRASSBIRD. PECTORAL SAND- 
PIPER. 
(Actodromas maculata.) 
One of our commonest marsh birds. Few of 
our feathered friends are more widely known 
than is the Grassbird. He is found at the dif- 
ferent seasons in North, Central and South 
America, the West Indies, Greenland, Europe 
and Asia. With us he is but a migrant visitor 
and is not known to nest within New England’s 
borders, or for that matter, elsewhere in the 
United States. In fact, very little is known of 
their breeding habits as there are very few rec- 
ords of the finding of either nests or eggs. It 
is supposed that they nest in the Arctic regions 
generally. 
They begin to arrive in our latitudes on their 
southern way during August, and their flocks 
continue to arrive and pass along until the se- 
verer weather of the fall commences, by which 
time they are all in the sunny south and safe 
from any danger of frost bite. Their migra- 
tory flights commonly take place at night, as 
is the rule of the bay birds. They come along 
