264 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
nature . . . the notes rising and swelling, then slowly falling and 
dying away into a hollow, wind-like whistle” (1909, p. 333). 
Additional Literature.—Bailey, F. M., Condor, XX, 112-113, 1918 .—For- 
bush, E. H., Educational Leaflet 4, Nat. Assoc. Audubon Soc.— Rockwell, R. B., 
Condor, XIV, 127-130, 1912 (nest).— Thayer, Abbott II., Special Leaflet 6, Nat. 
Assoc. Audubon Soc.; Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, Fig. 52, 1909. 
SPOTTED SANDPIPER: Actitis macularia (Linnaeus) 
Description. — Length: About 7-8 inches, wing 4-4.6, bill and tarsus each .9-1; 
outer and middle toes connected by basal webs. Adults in breeding plumage: Upper- 
parts silken greenish or bronzy brown with a faint metallic gloss, irregularly flecked 
with blackish; outer tail feathers barred with brown and white, spread wing with con¬ 
spicuous white line; axillars white, wing linings and flight feathers brown and white; 
line over eye white, and underparts white , with large round spots except on chin; iris 
brown; bill with upper mandible mainly blackish, flesh colored near base, lower 
mandible chiefly yellow or orange; legs and feet generally yellowish or greenish. 
Adults and young in winter plumage: Upperparts grayish olive or bronzy olive un¬ 
marked except for dusky shaft-streaks and barring on wing coverts; underparts 
unspotted , sides of neck and chest suffused with drab. Young in Juvenal plumage: 
Like winter adults but still less glossy; upperparts narrowly barred with pale buff and 
dusky, giving scaled effect. 
Range.— Breeds from tree limit in northwestern Alaska, northern Mackenzie, 
northern Manitoba, northern Quebec, and Newfoundland south to South Carolina, 
southern Louisiana, southern Texas, southern British Columbia (rarely), Oregon 
(probably), New Mexico, central Arizona, and southern California; winters from 
Califoinia, Louisiana, and South Carolina to Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and southern 
Brazil; casually to northern Argentina (Wetmore). 
State Records. The upper part of the valley of the Pecos River is a favorite 
nesting place for the Spotted Sandpiper; it breeds at least as low as 6,000 feet at 
Ribera, where it was found July 2, 1903, and up to 8,000 feet near Willis. Two 
families of young were seen on the Pecos near the junction of Mora Creek and the 
Pecos; one family had left the nest on July 15, 1903, and the others were probably a 
week older (Bailey). An old bird with two young was seen July 15, 1913, on the 
Ghama River west of Abiquiu, and the species is fairly common as a breeder at the 
Burford Lakes (Ligon). (In 1918, it did not nest on the Burford Lakes, but did along 
the Brazos, 10-12 miles away (Wetmore). It is common on the Little Rio Grande, 
Rio Pueblo, and Santa Barbara Rivers; also on the Rio Grande, ranging from 7,000 
to 8,000 feet, A nest containing four incubated eggs was found June 27, 1919, on Rio 
Pueblo, at 7,800 feet (Ligon).] After breeding the species ascends much higher into 
the mountains, since it was seen at 9,400 feet on the Costilla River, August 23, 1904, 
and even up to 11,600 feet at the foot of Pecos Baldv, August 15, 1903 It was 
common at Carlsbad, July 22-31, 1901 (Bailey), and by the last of the month, some 
birds enter Mexico. It is probable that these early fall migrants led Henry to 
believe that it nested on the lower Rio Grande near Fort Thorn, but it is also possible 
that it does nest there occasionally, for one pair nested in 1910 at Elephant Butte 
and the species was seen June 10, 1913, on the Rio Grande near Palomas Springs 
(Ligon); one was also seen June 2, 1907, on the Gila River near Duncan, Arizona, 
close to the New Mexico line (Bailey). 
Fall migration, which begins in July, is in full swing during August and at this 
time it is the most widespread shore-bird in the State, occurring along any perma¬ 
nent water both on the plains and in the mountains. A considerable number were 
