SPOTTED SANDPIPER 433 



Occasional individuals winter in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley, 

 as at Marysville, Butte County, December 25,. 1911 (C. and J. Muller, 

 1912, p. 43) ; in Amador County, February 2, 1896 ; at^ Modesto, Stani- 

 slaus County, February 12, 1910 (specimens in Mailliard coll.) ; and 

 at Stockton, November 25 (Belding, MS). The spring migration 

 probably occurs during late April, May, and possibly the early part 

 of June, although definite information in this regard is almost entirely 

 lacking. Some dates of first appearance are : Pasadena, April 21, 

 1897 (Grinnell, 1898, p. 18) ; Monterey, April 16, 1913 (Howell, MS) ; 

 Mendota, Fresno County, April 4, 1914 (Tyler, MS) ; and Ukiah, 

 between April 24 and May 1, 1889 (McGregor, 1896, p. 129). Beld- 

 ing (MS) states that it arrives at Stockton about the first of May 

 (April 27, in one instance), while nests with eggs have been found in 

 the Sierras during the last week in May. The fall migration probably 

 begins about the middle of July, as Grinnell (1908, p. 56) secured a 

 bird of the year, evidently a migrant, at Dry Lake, San Bernardino 

 Mountains, July 15, 1905 ; but the bulk of the birds do not leave the 

 breeding grounds until decidedly later, judging by the available nest- 

 ting data. Belding (MS) states that the species usually disappears 

 from the vicinity of Stockton about the first of October. The same 

 observer noted a pair of birds which were possibly summering in the 

 lowlands at Oroville, Butte County, July 1, 1885, and another pair 

 on a sand bar of the Feather River in the same vicinity, July 3, 1885 

 (Belding, MS). Along the coast north of Santa Barbara it must be 

 considered a rather rare species, having been observed only three 

 times at Monterey, once at Berkeley, May 9, 1885 (T. S. Palmer, in 

 Belding, MS), and at Eureka, August 3, 1910 (Dixon, MS). About 

 water-holes far out on the desert the Spotted Sandpiper appears as a 

 migrant during both fall and spring. Lamb (1912, p. 35) reports 

 it from near Daggett, San Bernardino County, August 5 and October 

 11, 1910, and again in numbers for several days after April 16, 1911. 



The Spotted Sandpiper can be distinguished from other shore birds 

 by its small size, almost uniformly colored brown upper surface (in- 

 cluding rump), the white streak on its spread wing, and the exten- 

 sively white under surface with (in spring and summer) sharp 

 rounded blackish spots. In flight the wings are distinctly curved down 

 toward the tips and rarely raised above the level of the back; -while 

 the course pursued is usually semicircular, and there is no undulating 

 or zigzagging as with many sandpipers. The few characters just 

 given will be sufficient to distinguish this species from all other shore 

 birds occurring in California. 



The call-note of the Spotted Sandpiper is a clear musical wheet, 

 uttered six or seven times at half-second intervals, often with a 

 descending inflection ; also, as when excited, a pr-r-r-r-ret, or ter-r-r-r- 



