139 
ment with exactness. Thus they work along a shoreline, examining its 
every inch. They are confiding, rather than brave, unconcerned where 
other species would be fearful. They fly suddenly in momentary panic 
with a chorus of fairy peepings, but the next moment forget their alarm, 
and return to the same spot immediately to continue rather than resume 
their interrupted microscopic searchings. By taking station close by the 
course along which they are working and remaining reasonably quiet, it 
is possible to have the whole, happy, busy, little company pass in close 
review. When they take flight, they start as if at a pre-arranged signal, 
with a shower of rippling little whistles, and dash off in a compact body, 
turning and wheeling as if moved by a single impulse. One instant they 
show a cloud of dark backs, and then, as they bank on another turn, every 
white underbody is simultaneously presented, and the flock flashes in the 
sun like a heliograph. After a few such turns they settle down again, 
and proceed immediately with the serious duty of cleaning up the beach 
as if not a moment should be lost. 
Some of them remain with us almost into summer, and, in the 
autumn, they return long before most observers have any inkling that 
the migrations are under way. The first of June may see the last spring 
straggler, the first of July their autumn advance guard, and by August 
first their migrations are well under way. The species that associate 
together and are usually included as “Peeps" are the Least, Semipalmated, 
and Western Sandpipers. They are often accompanied by Baird’s, White- 
rumped, and others. Some of these species are very difficult to 
know apart in life and, unless the observer has unlimited time and 
patience to examine critically the fine details of every flock he meets, 
many of them will be passed by as simply “Peeps." In general, the 
Least is the darkest, the Western the reddest, and the Semipalmated the 
greyest of the three. 
242. Least Sandpiper, mud peep, green-legged peep. 
6. Plate XVII B. The smallest of our Sandpipers 
Pisobia minutilla. L, 
Distinctions. Not easy to separate from the Semipalmated or the Western Sandpipers, 
but slightly smaller than either. The best distinction is the unwebbed toes (Figure 163, 
compare Figure 165). The legs are olive-green or ochre-yellow 
instead of dull black. In general, the Least is (excepting the 
Western Sandpiper, which is purely a coastal bird) the 
brownest, in some cases decidedly ruddy on the back. The 
breast band often tends towards buffy and the stripes are rather 
diffused. The bill is slightly smaller and more slender than 
that of the Semipalmated and decidedly smaller than that of 
the Western (See Figure 162). 
Field Marks. Very small size characterizes it as a Peep- 
Averaging on the back darker and redder, ruddy rather than 
greyish; more decided breast band with more diffuse striping 
than Semipalmated, darker and not quite as red as the Western. 
Careful observation under favourable circumstances will show 
dark olive-green legs. 
Distribution. North and South America. Breeds across 
the continent south of the Barren Grounds. Migrates through 
the interior and along the coasts. 
Figure 163 
Foot of Least Sandpiper; 
natural size. 
One of the most numerous of Shore Birds. Probably its diminutive 
size has protected it from the sportsman, though from its dense flocks 
numbers can be obtained with a single shot. It frequents sandy beaches 
and open mud-flats and is a tame and confiding bird. It associates largely 
