f^»K^ 



KNOT (Tringa canutus). While these 

 birds migrate to some extent through the in- 

 terior, they are there seen in nothing hke the 

 abundance with which they occur on the At- 

 lantic seaboard, although they do not to-day 

 occur in such numbers as they did a few years 

 ago. During fall, when their numbers are 

 augmented by the young of the year, flock 

 after flock passes the length of our coast; at 

 this season they are clothed in plain gray and 

 white, the immature birds being rather hand- 

 somer than their parents, for the feathers on 

 the back are edged with dark gray and white, 

 which gives a pleasing scaled effect to their 

 plumage. In this dress they are almost uni- 

 versally known as "Gray-backs," a name 

 also applied to Dowitchers, but more fre- 

 quently to this species. In the spring dress 

 they are known as "Red-breasted Sandpip' 

 ers," "Robin Snipe" and sometimes-tas 

 " Horse-foot Snipe." ;>if^ 



They are of quite stout build, but. small, 

 measuring but a little more than lo in. 

 in length. They fly in compact flocks and 

 come to decoys readily, their ranks being 

 sometimes woefully thinned by the first vol- 

 ley from the blind. They feed either along 

 the beaches or mud flats, gathering insects 

 and sheUfish from the ground or probing for 

 them like snipe. They breed in the extreme 

 north and winter from the Gulf coast to Pat-* 

 agonia. 



PURPLE SANDPIPERS (Arguatella maritima maritima), "Rock Sand- 

 pipers" or "Winter Snipe," delight in cold weather. They breed in the ex- 

 treme north and in winter rarely go south of Lpng Island and many pa^s that 

 season in high latitudes. They are casually found in the interior and rarely 

 along the coast to Florida. They frequent bold rocky shores, getting their 

 food chiefly from the kelp and seaweed. The winter plumage is shown by 

 the second bird from the front; in summer the back is mixed with buff and 

 rusty similar to that of the bird below which is a subspecies. 



PRIBILOF SANDPIPER (Arguatella maritima ptilocnemis). This spe- 

 cies, which is figured in the summer plumage, breeds in the Pribilof Islands 

 and winters on the southeastern Alaskan coast. 



KNOT (winter; summer 



PURPLE SANDPIPER (WINTEr) 

 PRIBILOE SANDPIPER (sUMMEr) 



32 



