SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC. 157 



ground, flying only as a last resort, and then darting swiftly away 

 with a sharp tweet, tweet. 



234. Tringa canutus Linn. Kkot; Eobin Sotpe; Gkat Snipe. 

 (See Figs. 25, h, 26, 1.) Ad. in summer. — Upper parts barred and streaked with 

 black and white and rufous ; tail ashy gray, narrowly margined with whitish ; 

 under parts dull rufous ; lower belly white or whitish, sides sometimes with 

 black bars. (According to George H. Mackay, it requires about four years 

 for birds to acquire this plumage. See Auk, x, 1893, p. 25.) /m.— Upper parts 

 plain brownish gray ; upper tail-ooverts bari-ed with black and white, tail 

 brownish gray ; breast and sides barred with black, belly white. Young. — 

 Upper parts pale brownish gray ; head streaked with blackish ; back, wing- 

 coverts, and scapulars with distinct black and white borders ; upper tail-cov- 

 erts barred with blackish ; tail ashy gray, naiTowly margined with white ; 

 under parts white ; breast finely streaked or spotted with blackish ; flanks 

 barred or streaked with blackish. L., 10-50 ; W., 6'T5 ; Tar., 1-20 ; B., 1-80. 



Range. — Northern hemisphere, breeding within the Arctic Circle, and in 

 America wintering from Florida to South America. 



Long Island, not uncommon T. V., May 15 to June 10 ; July 15 to Nov. 



Eggs, known from only one specimen collected in the vicinity of Fort 

 Conger by General Greely, and described as " light pea-green, closely spotted 

 with brown in small specks about the size of a pinhead," 1-10 x I'OO (see 

 Merriam, Auk, ii, 1885, p. 313). 



Knots feed along the beaches on the small crustaceans and mol- 

 lusca brought in by the waves, and they also frequent muddy places, 

 where, like the true Snipe, they probe the ground for food. They 

 decoy with ease, " bunching " so closely as they wheel into the stools 

 that the entire flock is sometimes killed by a single discharge. Mr. 

 George H. Mackay, in one of his carefnl and detailed studies of our 

 Shore Birds, describes their notes as a soft wah-quoif and a little honk. 

 The first is particularly noticeable when flocks are coming to the de- 

 coys (see Auk, x, 1893, pp. 25-35). 



235. Tringa maritima Brunn. Purple Saudpipee. Ad. in swm- 

 mer. — Upper parts black, margined with ochraceous-buff and cream-buff; 

 wings fuscous-gray, greater coverts margined with white and some seeonda- 

 ries entirely white ; upper tail-ooverts fuscous, outer tail-feathers ashy gray, 

 inner ones fuscous ; thr0.1t and breast brownish gray, streaked with black ; 

 belly white, sides and under tail-coverts streaked with brownish gray. Win- 

 ter plumage. — Head, neck, breast, and sides a,shy, the two latter margined 

 with white ; back fuscous, margined with ashy ; wings fuscous, the coverts, 

 secondaries, and tertials distinctly bordered with white; upper tail-covertfl 

 and middle tail-feathers black or fuscous, outer tail-feathei-a ashy ; belly and 

 linings of the wings white. Tj., 9-00 ; W., 5-00 ; Tar., 9-00 ; B., ViO. 



SeTnarhs. — The brownish gray. or ashy breast of this species is a good 

 distinguishing character. 



Range. — " Northern portions of the northern hemisphere; in North Amer- 



