336 USEFUL BIRDS. 



Bartramian Sandpiper. Upland Plover. 

 Bartramia longicauda. 



Length. — Nearly twelve inches. 



Adult. — Upper parts generally light tawny-brown, with dark or blackish mark- 

 ings; outer tail feathers barred with black and brown, and tipped with 

 white ; inner webs of larger wing feathers barred with black and white ; 

 breast and sides buffy or tawny, marked lightly with blackish; belly 

 whitish. 



Nest. — A mere hollow in the ground. 



Eggs. — Buffy or whitish, speckled with dark brown. 



Season. — May to September. 



This fine, large Sandpiper, commonly called the Upland 

 Plover, is a bird of the grass-field and pasture. It is not 

 often seen near the shore, except as it feeds in migration 

 on the grassy hills of Ipswich and other coast towns, or on 

 Nantucket, where it breeds. It is a bird of the uplands, 

 often found breeding in the interior, at long distances from 

 rivers or ponds, and usually in upland mowing fields. Forty 

 years ago it bred commonly in considerable areas of the 

 State, but now it is rare or wanting everywhere in the 

 breeding season except in a few localities in some counties. 

 Its note is a melodious, long, rolling whistle, uttered much in 

 flight. Just after the bird alights it raises its wings high 

 over its back, stretches them, and then folds them in place. 



As the law now protects this bird at all times, it is to be 

 hoped that its numbers will increase, as it is one of the most 

 valuable birds of the field. It is an indefatigable insect 

 hunter, living very largely on such insects as grass-eating 

 caterpillars and grasshoppers. 



American Woodcock. 



Philohela minor. 



Length. — Ten to twelve inches ; bill nearly three inches. 



Adult. — Upper parts brown and russet or buff, mixed with gray and marked with 

 blackish ; back of head black, barred with yellowish ; dark line from eye to 

 bill ; under parts pale, warm brown, varying in Intensity ; tail black, tipped 

 with white ; eye large, well back and high up. 



Nest. — On ground in moist land. 



Eggs. — Large, buff-colored, with chocolate and stone-gray spots and markings. 



Season. — March to November ; rare in winter. 



This favorite game bird was once a common summer resi- 

 dent of this State, but is now becoming rare in the breeding 



