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THE PECTORAL SANDriPER. 
example, killed in August at Greenwich. The species was 
fonnerly considered to be a rare visitor to this country, but 
probably remained in some instances undistinguished, when 
in its winter plumage, from the Dunlin, for the same rea- 
son ; the beak, however, is longer, more slender, as well as 
more curved ; the legs longer and thinner, and the bare 
part above the joint is of greater extent ; there is also a 
constant and marked difference in the rump and the upper 
tail coverts, which in this bird are invariably white, but in 
the Dunlin the feathers along the central line of the rump, 
and upper tail coverts, are of the same colour as those of 
the back. 
The Pectoral and Buff-breasted Sandpipers {Tringa 
pectoralis, and T, nifescens). — These are both rare species 
with us, but two or three specimens of the first have been taken 
in the country ; it is found in various parts of the United 
States, migrating north and west to breed. Audubon 
describes it as not uncommon along the eastern shores of 
the coasts in autumn and winter; and Nuttall, in his 
* Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and of 
Canada,' gives this description of its habits: — *I have 
observed that the flight of the Pectoral Sandpiper re- 
sembles that of the Knot, and is firm, rapid, and well- 
sustained. It skims rather low over the surface of the 
water or the land, and at times shoots high up into 
the air, propelling itself with double rapidity and per- 
fect silence. It runs with great agility, and probes 
the sand or wet earth, immersing its bill up to the base.' 
The length of this American Sandpiper is about nine 
inches, that of the Buff- breasted is an inch less ; this latter 
is also a rare species in Europe, although w^ell-known in 
America ; it is common in Brazil, and is found in Louisiana, 
and occasionally in the more northern states. The author 
above quoted tells us that * this elegant species, some 
seasons, is not uncommon in the markets of Boston, in the 
months of August and September, being met with near the 
capes of Massachusetts Bay. Specimens have also been 
obtained in the vicinity of New York.' 
The two species here associated arc much alike in form 
