THE SANDERLING 169 
worth the ammunition necessary to its capture 
and is a very fair bird for the table—that is, 
enough of them are. It comes readily to call, 
_ whether of ‘‘peep,’’ ‘‘ringneck,’’ or other of 
its acquaintances, for it is very sociable in its 
nature, and the gunner who is seeking the in- 
gredients for a shorebird pie can not do better 
than use these birds for material. 
He is a plump and ‘‘chunky’’ little fellow, his 
build and figure reminding us of the ‘‘beetle- 
head.’’ The fall adult and the young of the 
year are not so brilliantly colored as are the 
spring birds. For the most part the fall coat 
is made up of modest and sober colors—gray, 
black and white. The breeding dress is 
brighter, the upper parts mottled with ashy, 
black, and light reddish brown, with these col- 
ors also on the sides of the neck and throat, 
the black in broad areas through the centres 
of the feathers, the light colors on the edges 
and tips. A white area at the base of cach of 
the inner primaries, together with the greater 
part of the secondaries, also white, make a con- 
spicuous mark of this color when the wing is 
spread. Rump and upper tail coverts dusky 
with fine edgings of white. Bill and feet black. 
