THE RED-BACKED SANDPIPER 167 
white; throat and upper breast thickly speckled 
with dusky, and an abdominal area of black, 
varying much in size. Bill and feet black, the 
bill somewhat down-curved at the tip. Have 
seen birds shot in September wearing nearly 
such a plumage as this. In the winter coat 
much of the red has disappeared and the black 
of the belly is also lacking. A plain, slatey- 
gray above and pure white below, but there is 
searcely any bird with which to confound him. 
Length eight or nine inches; sail spread about 
fifteen inches. The American variety may 
average rather larger than his Old World 
brother. The Dunlins are very generally known 
by the bay gunners as ‘‘Fall Snipes,’’ and are 
reasonably abundant during August and Sep- 
tember, growing more numerous as the autumn 
advances to reach their greatest numbers near 
the end of the shooting season. Rather late 
visitors and among the last to go south in the 
fall. 
In New England these birds are rarely seen 
away from the salt marshes of the coast and 
unless in large flocks of their own kind they are 
apt to be found in company with the ‘‘grass- 
