RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. 
65 
marshes at low water, feeding’ on small worms, and 
other insects, which generally abound in such places. 
In tlie month of May they are extremely fat. 
This bird is said to inhabit Greenland, Iceland, 
Scandinavia, the Alps of Siberia, and, in its migrations, 
the coasts of the Caspian Sea.* It has not, till now, 
been recognized by naturalists as inhabiting this part 
of North America. Wherever its breeding place may 
be, it probably begins to lay at a late period of the 
season, as, in numbers of females which I examined on 
the 1st of June, the eggs were no larger than grains of 
mustard seed. 
Length of the red-back, eight inches and a half, 
extent, fifteen inches ; bill, black, longer than the head, 
(which would seem to rank it with the snipes,) slightly 
bent, grooved oil the upper mandible, and wrinkled at 
the base ; crown, back, and scapulars, bright reddish 
rust, spotted with black ; wing-coverts, pale olive ; 
quills darker ; the first tipt, the latter crossed with 
white ; front, cheeks, hindhead, and sides of the neck, 
quite round ; also the breast, grayish white, marked 
with small specks of black ; belly, white, marked with 
a broad crescent of black; tail, pale olive, the two 
middle feathers centred with black ; legs and feet, ashy 
black ; toes, divided to their origin, and bordered with 
a slightly scalloped membrane ; irides, very dark. 
The males and females are nearly alike in one 
respect, both differing greatly in colour, even at the 
same season, probably owing to difference of age ; some 
being of a much brighter red than others, and the 
plumage dotted with white. In the month of Sep- 
tember many are found destitute of the black crescent 
on the belly ; these have been conjectured to be young 
birds. 
* Pennant. 
VOL. III. 
3 
