The Spotted Sandpiper 
drawn whistle with which the bird greets from on high the sight of its re¬ 
membered pastures in springtime. Hearing it, the farmer boy straight¬ 
ens at his task and remembers that he, too, though born of the soil, was 
born to lofty things. Clods find their voices in skylarks, and a wisp of 
prairie grass, dry and sere, has taken fire aloft in the Bartramian’s song. 
One appearance, deemed accidental, entitles this bird to recognition 
here; but if it does succeed in making headway in the West, one feels safe 
in predicting that it will first establish itself in the Surprise Valley, 
in Modoc County, where the Bobolink, most jubilant of songsters, has 
already found asylum, and where the Long-billed Curlew still lingers 
unrebuked. The bird is part sandpiper, part plover, to appearance, 
and its short bill will serve instantly to distinguish it from the well-known 
Sickle-bill (Numenius americanus ), which it otherwise resembles in choice 
of range and in general economy. 
No. 251 
Spotted Sandpiper 
A. 0 . U. No. 263. Actitis macularia (Linnaeus). 
Synonyms.— Peet-weet. Tip-up. Teeter-tail. 
Description. —Adult in summer: Upperparts light olive-brown with pale green¬ 
ish or brassy luster; the head and neck streaked, and the back, scapulars, tertiaries, 
etc., irregularly barred with darker; quills darker and with more distinct greenish 
reflections; the inner primaries and secondaries narrowly tipped with white, the former 
varied with some white on the inner webs, the latter with much basal white, showing 
conspicuously in flight; central tail-feathers like back, but greener, the outer feathers 
becoming duller and tipped with white; a white superciliary line; entire underparts 
white and strikingly marked with rounded spots approaching color of back; axillars 
pure white. Bill flesh-color, sometimes orange, darkening above, or not, and with 
dusky tip; feet and legs pinkish white. Winter plumage: Somewhat similar, but 
underparts immaculate; breast tinged with gray; back browner, unbarred. Immature: 
Like adult in winter; but showing blackish-and-buffy bars above, faintly on back, 
more strongly on wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts. Length 177.8-203.2 (7.00-8.00); 
wing 105.4 (4- 1 5); tail 50.8 (2.00); bill 23.6 (.93); tarsus 24.1 (.95). 
Recognition Marks. —Sparrow to towhee size; greenish brown back; boldly' 
spotted underparts; the characteristic bird of river-bank and lake-shore. 
Nesting. — Nest: On the ground, a slight depression, scantily or somewhat 
carefully lined with dead leaves and grass. Eggs: 4; ovate or pointed ovate; pale 
olive-buff, pinkish buff or light clay-color, boldly and coarsely spotted or else blotched 
and finely spotted with deep chocolate and a little violet-gray. Av. of 10 sets in 
M. C. 0 . coll.; 31.75 x 23.4 (1.25 x .92); index 73.6. Season: May—July; one or two 
broods. 
General Range. —North and South America. Breeds practically throughout 
the United States, except the southeastern portion, north to the limit of trees. Winters 
12/8 
