LONG-TAILED SANDPIPER. 
“The food of this Tattler is mainly insects, especially grasshoppers, of 
which they must devour enormous quantities in the aggregate. They also 
feed on the small animal substances, as well as upon various berries. I have 
found them very weU conditioned even in the spring, and in the fall they 
grow surprisingly fat. They are a tender and well-flavoured bird. Being so 
dehcate, they are easily killed, dropping to a touch of the flnest shot. 
“ There is but httle difference in the plumage of these birds at any 
season, and their size is also quite constant. The sexes are not distinguish- 
able by any outward marks (though the female averages sHghtly larger than 
the male) and the young closely resemble the parents upon their flrst complete 
feathering. In measuring a great number of fresh specimens, I found the 
length to vary only from 11.50 to 12.75; the extent 21.50 to 23.00; wing 6.25 
to 7.00 ; the tail is about 3.60 ; the tarsus about 1.75 ; the bill, 1.00 to 
1.25, measured along the culmen.”* 
\ 
♦ Coues, Birds of the North-west, p. 503, 1874 
239 
I 
