asses and a few leaves. They lay three or four
eggs having a grayish colored ground, and marked with different shades
of brown, and also with some faint markings of lilac. Size 1.30 x .90.
Data.--Peel River, Arctic America, June 18, 1898. Four eggs, taken with
the bird by an Indian. Eggs in a slight hollow on the river bank.

242. LEAST SANDPIPER. _Pisobia minutilla_.

Range.--North America, breeding from the southern parts of the British
Provinces northward; winters from southern United States southward.
Common in the interior and on both coasts.

This is the smallest of our Sandpipers, being under six inches in
length. Except for size, they are similar in appearance to Baird's
Sandpiper, only the back is browner. A very abundant species during
migrations, being found on the seashore or in marshes, nearly always in
company with other species of the family. Their nests are the same as
other Sandpipers, and the eggs are grayish, thickly specked with brown.
Size 1.15 x .80. Data.--Peel River, Arctic America, June 20, 1899. Nest
simply a depression in the river bank, lined with grass.

[Illustration 150: White-rumped Sandpiper. Baird's Sandpiper. Least
Sandpiper.]
[Illustration: Grayish.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]

Page 149

242.1. LONG-TOED STINT. _Pisobia damacensis_.

An Asiatic species accidentally found on the Alaskan shores. It is a
very similar bird to the Least Sandpiper, and about the same size. As
implied by its name, it has unusually long toes.

243. DUNLIN. _Pelidna alpina alpina_.

A very common Sandpiper in the British Isles and in Europe, but only
casually occurring as a straggler along the Atlantic coast. Very similar
to the next species, but a trifle smaller. The nest and eggs do not
differ from the following.

243a. RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. _Pelidna alpina sakhalina_.

Range.--Whole of North America, breeding from southern Greenland,
Labrador, Hudson Bay and the Yukon, northward, wintering from the Gulf
States southward. This handsome species is similar to the Pribilof
Sandpiper, but is smaller (length 8 inches), the upperparts are more
reddish, the breast more heavily streaked, and it has a black patch on
the belly instead of on the breast as in ptilocnemis. Their nesting
habits are similar to others of the family; they lay three or four eggs
with a brownish or greenish buff color, heavily blotched and spotted
with shades of brown and chestnut. Size 1.40 x 1.00. Data.--- Peel
Ri