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238. Sharp- tailed Sandpiper. Pisobia acuminata. L, 8*50. A small Sandpiper 
of same general size and coloration as the Buff-breasted, but with the ochres less extensive 
and solid. Back, dark brown with many feather edges of ochre and rusty. Below, white 
tinged with ruddy brown, strongest on breast where it is finely and brokenly streaked — 
not nearly as uniform or complete as in the Pectoral Sandpiper but more than in the 
Buff-breasted. Crown, strongly rufous, bordered by a light superciliary line. Tail pointed 
and composed of pointed feathers. 
Distinctions. Most like the Pectoral or Buff-breasted Sandpipers, but with red crown 
and pointed tail. The breast is far more sparsely spotted and the breast band more diffuse 
and inconspicuous than that of the Pectoral. Separated from the Buff-breasted by light 
superciliary line, red cap, more specklings on throat, and without the beautiful under-wing 
pattern of that species, back striped rather than with scale-like rings. 
Field Marks. A little Wader, similar to the Buff-breasted in colour, but of different 
habit, habitat, and outline. Has a reddish cap, a light line over the eye, and a white chin. 
Distribution. Eastern parts of eastern hemisphere. Breeds on the Siberian coast 
and only occasionally wanders down to our shores. We have a few records from the 
vicinity of Vancouver island and Queen Charlotte islands. Not to be expected in the 
interior. 
239. Pectoral Sandpiper, grass snipe. Pisobia maculata. L, 9. A small 
Sandpiper with a distinct, plainly defined, buffy band, heavily and evenly streaked with 
fine, brown lines, across breast and foreneck. Above — dark brown striped with many 
buff and whitish feather edges, rusty in autumn juveniles. White below. 
Distinctions. A brown-backed Sandpiper, with buffy breast band sharply defined 
against white throat and underparts. Two other Sandpipers — the White-rumped and 
Baird’s — have similar breast bands. In the White-rumped, the ground colour of the band 
is dull white or ashy rather than buff, the pencilling is sharper, and usually in greater 
contrast; it also has a white rump which iB absent on the Pectoral. In Baird’Sj the breast 
band is similarly buffy, but decidedly less pronounced, and sharply defined at its borders; 
the striping is obscure and very much blended and the back does not give a striped effect. 
The Pectoral, as a rule, is decidedly larger than either of the above, but there is considerable 
variation in size in the species. A bill of one inch or over will separate this species from 
the others. 
Field Marks. A small Sandpipe^ with broad, dull breast band, a striped back, rather 
rusty in autumn, and no other particular recognition marks. Usually found in grassy 
marshes . 
Distribution. North and South America, breeding on the Arctic and Alaska coasts 
from the mouth of the Yukon to the Mackenzie, migrating throughout the whole of 
southern Canada. 
The Pectoral Sandpiper like Wilson’s Snipe is to be found in wet, grassy 
meadows or on mud flats, rarely on sandy beaches. In breeding season it 
develops a neck sac that can be inflated to an extraordinary extent, and it 
indulges in a remarkable flight song. Many of the Waders have very interest- 
ing flight songs, but these are confined to the breeding season and the 
immediate vicinity of the nest and are seldom heard by the ordinary observer. 
240. White-rumped Sandpiper. Bonaparte’s sandpiper. Pisobia fusdcollis. A 
small Sandpiper. White below; brown above, variegated with feather edges of shades of 
buff, rusty, and white. In spring, breast and flanks sharply and clearly streaked with dark 
brown. Rump always white. In autumn, the breast streaking is often suffused with a 
vague breast band of light ashy or even pale buffy. 
Distinctions. Very much like an enlarged Least Sandpiper (See Plate XVII B). May 
be mistaken, especially in autumn, for either the Pectoral or Baird’s Sandpipers, but 
easily separable from them by the white rump. The Stilt Sandpiper also has a white rump, 
is of similar size, and in autumn of similar general coloration, but has a considerably longer 
bill (over 1*25, instead of under) with a slightly enlarged tip (See Figure 160) and long 
legs reaching beyond the tips of the closed wings. 
Field Marks. A small Sandpiper lacking strongly determinate coloration, with a 
short bill, about the length of the head, and a white rump. 
Distribution. North and South America. Breeding on the central Arctic coast from 
the Mackenzie eastward, migrating through the interior and the east. More common in 
the eastern than the western prairies and so far not recorded from British Columbia. 
