The Sanderling 
glides slowly to the ground, uttering at the same time, in a trill, but with 
deeper and richer tone, a series of notes which may be likened to the syl¬ 
lables tzur-r-r-r, tzur-r-r.” 
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Taken in Washington Photo by the Author 
EXEUNT 
No. 243 
Sanderling 
A. O. U. No. 248. Crocethia alba (Pallas). 
Description. —Adult in summer: Crown and upperparts, in general, blackish 
with heavy edging of ashy white, and with much striping, sub-marginal marking, 
or indenting and barring, of pale rufous; forehead, sides of head, throat, and neck all 
around, and sides of breast ashy white, strongly tinted with pale rufous, and finely 
spotted with dusky; remaining underparts pure white,—the white well up on sides 
of rump, and including outer feathers of upper tail-coverts; wings, marginally, 
and including exposed portions of quills, fuscous; the greater coverts tipped with 
white, and the wing-quills changing to white on their inner webs and under surfaces; 
the inner primaries white basally on outer webs; tail dusky above, ashy gray on lateral 
feathers. Bill and feet black. Adult in winter: Wings dusky, varied, on middle 
coverts, etc., with white; central upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers dusky; remaining 
upperparts ashy gray (nearly pearl gray); the feathers, especially on crown, with 
dusky shaft-lines; entire underparts pure white. Immature in fall: Somewhat like 
adult in summer, but without rufous anywhere; back, therefore, showing more black, 
varied chiefly by white in scant edgings and tips, or in liberal indentations on scapulars 
and tertials; feathers of rump nearly square-ended, marked subterminally with light 
ashy gray, but tipped with a sharp, narrow band of blackish; underparts white,—or 
sometimes spotted on breast. Length 177.8-222.3 (7.00-8.75); wing 122.4 (4.82); 
tail 53.6 (2.11); bill 26.9 (1.06); tarsus 25.9 (1.02). 
Recognition Marks. —Towhee size; fine, mottled rufous, ashy and black of 
spring birds; excess of white in fall specimens; black bill, strongly contrasting with 
adjacent plumage. Absence of hind toe, of course, distinctive. 
12 53 
