20 



CIRCULAR 520, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



brownish streaked with dusky, and the belly and rump white; the 

 middle tail feathers are darker than the others. A note, kriek, kriek, 

 given by the bird when flushed, has suggested one of its local names, 

 "creaker." It is seen on the Atlantic coast only in migration. 



The least sandpiper, or mud peep (P. minutilla) , 5 to 6% inches 

 in length, frequents muddy beaches everywhere and is often seen 

 in salt marshes, sometimes assembled in large flocks. From the 

 large numbers and small size of the sandpipers associating in these 

 flocks, they are locally called "bumblebee peeps." There are several 

 small sandpipers of very similar appearance, but it is impracticable 

 to differentiate them here, though a common one on mud, with 

 greenish-yellow legs and a slightly down-curved bill, is likely to be 

 the least sandpiper. It does not breed in Atlantic Coast States but 

 occurs in all of them in migration and winters from North Carolina 

 southward. 



Figuee 8. — Pectoral sandpiper. 



The spotted sandpiper [Actitis macularia), although chiefly a 

 fresh-water associate, is so universally distributed that individuals 

 at times are likely to visit salt marshes. This bird, 6% to 8 inches 

 long, is grayish brown above and white below, marked with round 

 dark spots that distinguish it from any other shore bird. This 

 sandpiper is constantly bobbing and is on that account widely 

 called teeter-tail. It usually cries peet-weet, when taking flight, 

 and with down-curved wings alternately flaps and sails, usually not 

 far before alighting again. It frequents both wet grassy or muddy 

 areas. 



It was pointed out by the writer 4 in 1911 (p. 9) that shore birds 

 deserve protection by their beneficial feeding habits. Where local 



* McAteb, W. L. our vanishing shorebirds. 

 1911. 



U. S. Biol. Survey Cir. 79. 9 pp., illuj 



