Sanderling.
Calidris arenaria.
Fig. 105.—Sanderling (winter plumage). ¼ natural size.
Feathers of the upper parts with dark brown centres, edged or spotted with rufous and tipped with grey; base of inner primaries and edge of greater wing-coverts white, and outer feathers of tail-coverts also white; face, neck, and upper breast pale chestnut spotted with dark brown; under parts white; bill black; legs and feet dark olive. Length, eight inches. In winter the upper plumage is ash-grey and the whole under parts white.
The sanderling is the sole member of its genus, and differs from other sandpipers in having no hind toe. It arrives on our coasts in August, young and old birds coming together. During the autumn months it is found in small flocks, associating with dunlins and other species on the seashore, and it is also a visitor to the margins of inland waters. A few birds remain through the winter. In April the migrants reappear, and remain until May or June before going north to their breeding-grounds. The sanderling is circumpolar in its distribution, and breeds farther north than most of the arctic species. The eggs are greenish buff in ground-colour, spotted with various shades of brown, and have been described as ‘miniature curlews’ eggs of a pale colour.’ After the young have been reared the birds travel south along the shores of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. On the Pacific coast of America their migration extends from the arctic regions to Patagonia, a journey of nearly eight thousand miles.
Common Sandpiper.
Tringoïdes hypoleucus.
Upper parts ash-brown glossed with olive; chin white; sides of the neck and breast pale ash with dusky streaks; under parts and tips of outer tail-feathers white. Length, eight inches.
The common sandpiper, known also as the summer snipe, is a summer visitor, to be met with from April until the end of September in suitable places throughout the British Islands. He is an exceeding lively and restless little bird, running nimbly or flitting along the margin of the water; when standing, perpetually bobbing his head and jerking his tail, on which account he is named ‘fidler’ in some districts; solitary in habit, or living with his mate only, choosing for a home the most secluded spots by streams and meres. In the southern half of England, where the localities that best suit him are fewest, he is very thinly diffused; in Scotland, on the other hand, he is most abundant. Seebohm writes of this sandpiper: ‘It is found in the same localities as those frequented by the dipper. High up among the mountains its melodious cry may be heard from the shingly margin of the stream, or the bird may not unfrequently be seen perched on a rock surrounded by water. Even here the sandpiper shows a partiality for certain haunts. The dipper loves their wildest mood, and the more they roll and toss over the rocky boulders, the more he seems at home; but the sandpiper prefers their slow-running reaches and sandy, driftwood-covered islets, where the shingly and oozy rush-grown banks afford it the haunt it needs.’