The Spotted Sandpiper 



drawn whistle with which the bird greets from on high the sight of its re- 

 membered pastures in springtime. Hearing it, the farmer boy straight- 

 ens at his task and remembers that he, too, though born of the soil, was 

 born to lofty things. Clods find their voices in skylarks, and a wisp of 

 prairie grass, dry and sere, has taken fire aloft in the Bartramian's song. 

 One appearance, deemed accidental, entitles this bird to recognition 

 here; but if it does succeed in making headway in the West, one feels safe 

 in predicting that it will first establish itself in the Surprise Valley, 

 in Modoc County, where the Bobolink, most jubilant of songsters, has 

 already found asylum, and where the Long-billed Curlew still lingers 

 unrebuked. The bird is part sandpiper, part plover, to appearance, 

 and its short bill will serve instantly to distinguish it from the well-known 

 Sickle-bill {Numeniiis americanns) , which it otherwise resembles in choice 

 of range and in general economy. 



No. 251 



Spotted Sandpiper 



A. 0. U. No. 263. Actitis macularia (Linnaeus). 



Synonyms. — Peet-weet. Tip-up. Teeter-tail. 



Description. — Adult in summer: Upperparts light olive-brown with pale green- 

 ish or brassy luster; the head and neck streaked, and the back, scapulars, tertiaries, 

 etc., irregularly barred with darker; quills darker and with more distinct greenish 

 reflections; the inner primaries and secondaries narrowly tipped with white, the former 

 varied with some white on the inner webs, the latter with much basal white, showing 

 conspicuously in flight; central tail-feathers like back, but greener, the outer feathers 

 becoming duller and tipped with white; a white superciliary line; entire underparts 

 white and strikingly marked with rounded spots approaching color of back; axillars 

 pure white. Bill flesh-color, sometimes orange, darkening above, or not, and with 

 dusky tip; feet and legs pinkish white. Winter plumage: Somewhat similar, but 

 underparts immaculate; breast tinged with gray; back browner, unbarred. Immature: 

 Like adult in winter; but showing blackish-and-buffy bars above, faintly on back, 

 more strongly on wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts. Length 177.8-203.2 (7.00-8.00); 

 wing 105.4 (4-I5); tail 50.8 (2.00); bill 23.6 (.93); tarsus 24.1 (.95). 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow to towhee size; greenish brown back; boldly 

 spotted underparts; the characteristic bird of river-bank and lake-shore. 



Nesting. — Nest: On the ground, a slight depression, scantily or somewhat 

 carefully lined with dead leaves and grass. Eggs: 4; ovate or pointed ovate; pale 

 olive-buff, pinkish buff or light clay-color, boldly and coarsely spotted or else blotched 

 and finely spotted with deep chocolate and a little violet-gray. Av. of 10 sets in 

 M. C. O. coll.: 31.75 x 23.4 (1.25 x .92); index 73.6. Season: May-July; one or two 

 broods. 



General Range. — North and South America. Breeds practically throughout 

 the United States, except the southeastern portion, north to the limit of trees. Winters 



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