SANDPIPERS 
193 
the tail. The Spotted Sandpiper teeters constantly, whereas the Solitary nods commonly, 
and teeters only occasionally. In this queer, spasmodic action, which seems more or less 
involuntary, the legs are momentarily flexed and the forepart of the body is jerked down 
as the tail is jerked up. This action is indulged in continually. Standing at ease on a stone 
at the water's edge it teeters; every pause in its little excursions is filled with a succession 
of teeters; and it stops even in full career to punctuate with a teeter. Its wing stroke is 
distinctive; its stiffly held, down-curved wings at the bottom of each stroke being very 
different from the long, flowing beat of any other similar wader. 
Nesting. Slight hollow in ground at no great distance from water in the shelter of a 
clump of shrub or bunch of grass. 
Distribution. Breeds over the whole of Canada north to tree limit. Common through- 
out its range. 
This is the commonest summer sandpiper in Canada; occasional 
pairs are to he found along the smallest streams. It frequents all kinds of 
ground; sand beaches, gravelly reaches, mud-flats, or rocky shores. 
Almost any small sandpiper seen in summer near our waters may be 
provisionally put down as this species unless there are good grounds for 
other identification. Its habit of bobbing its body up and down occasion- 
ally, even when apparently at rest, or more rapidly when excited, has given 
it the common name “Tip-up.” Its white-barred wings, peculiar flight, 
with a few quick beats followed by a short sail on decurved wings, and its 
loud, triumphant “ Pewit-peivit-pewit” as it alights on the stream margin 
well ahead of the observer are familiar to all. One can chase it from point 
to point for some distance from its home ground, when, joined by its mate, 
it will circle well around the disturber and return to the place from which 
it started. 
The French-Canadian well-known folk song “Alouette” is said to 
refer to this species. Of course, this is a popular misapplication of an 
Old World name to a New World form, for the Spotted Sandpiper is not 
even distantly related to the lark which is the real meaning of the French 
word. 
rz.. 
Figure 275 
Field marks of: 
a, Spotted Sandpiper: b , Solitary Sandpiper. 
Economic Status. Though normally frequenting water edges it is often 
seen in the adjacent fields, running between the furrows of newly turned 
earth or rows of growing crops. Its food consists mainly, if not entirely, 
of insects; hence it is beneficial to the farmer. The species has not suffered 
from shooting, probably because of its small size and non-flocking habits, 
and it seems to hold its own even in the most cultivated sections. 
