The Pectoral Sandpiper 



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pleasing alternation of 

 flashing white, when the 

 underparts are exposed, 

 and somber gray, when 

 the backs appear. While 

 on the wing, the birds 

 keep up a cross-fire of 

 peculiar, wild, creaking 

 notes; but upon alight- 

 ing, they scatter widely 

 in search of food and 

 are mainly silent. They 

 both glean and probe on 

 land, or wade about bus- 

 ily in the grassy plashes. 

 At the approach of dan- 

 ger the waders will often 

 crouch low upon the 

 ground in the hope of 

 escaping observation. 

 In the autumn, when 

 each individual shifts for 

 itself, the bird is said to 

 lie well to a dog; and 

 upon being flushed it 

 moves off with a rapid zigzag flight much admired by the knights of the 

 reeking tube. 



Very interesting accounts of the breeding habits of these birds in 

 their Alaskan home reach us through the pen of Mr. E. W. Nelson. Ac- 

 cording to this careful observer, the males are able to distend the loosened 

 skin of the breast, inflating it, together with the esophagus, with air 

 until it becomes nearly as large as the rest of the body. With these 

 absurd appendages they run up and down before the females, or essay 

 strange sallies in the air. While engaged in these attempts to win 

 attention, they utter notes which are hollow and resonant, but at the 

 same time liquid and musical, and may be represented by a repetition 

 of the syllables too-u, too' -u, too' -n. 



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Taken in Santa Barbara 

 Photo by the Author 



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A DINNER GUEST 



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