264 BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK 



the tail, but should be distinguished by its shorter legs and 

 much shorter bill. (See Fig. 77.) 



Solitary Sandpiper. Helodromas solitarius 



8.40. Bill 1.15 



Ad. in spring. — Upper parts olive-brown, sparsely speckled 

 with white; front of neck streaked with dusky; outer tail-feathers 

 white, barred with black ; wing not showing a row of white spots 

 in flight. Ad. in fall. — Upper parts dark ashy, even less 

 speckled with white ; front of neck less streaked with dusky. 

 Im. — Upper parts brownish-gray, everywhere speckled with 

 white ; sides of head and neck dusky ; rest of under parts white ; ' 

 tail as in adult ; legs greenish. 



The Solitary Sandpiper is a not uncommon migrant 



throughout New York and New England, passing north in 



May, and returning in late July, 



August, and September. It is the 



only sandpiper except the Spotted, 



which occurs regularly away from 



the sea-coast or from extensive 



bodies of water. In fact, it may be 



found as a migrant near any ditch 



Fig. 78. Tail of Solitary or pool of stagnant water, and 



seems to prefer a muddy shore to 



the pebbly beaches which the Spotted Sandpiper haunts. 



Its notes are almost identical with those of the Spotted 

 Sandpiper. It sometimes occurs in sloughs on the marshes, 

 and might there be confused with the Summer Yellow-legs. 

 Its tail, however, distinguishes it both from the Yellow- 

 legs and from the Spotted Sandpiper. The central pair of 

 feathers are dark, but the outer ones are white, barred with 

 black ; it therefore shows much more white in the out- 

 spread tail as it flies up than the Spotted Sandpiper, but 

 less than the Yellow-legs. Moreover, it lacks the line of 

 white in the wing which is so characteristic of the Spotted 



