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L O N G - L E G G E D SANDPIPER.
Tswm IlniANTOPUS, BONAP.
1'J.ATK <:(:<jxi.iv.
I HAVE often spoken of thé great differences as to size arid colour
tluit are-observed iti birds (if the same spocids, -and which have frequently
given rise to mistakes, insomuch that thémalej the female,
and the young, have been considered aseso many distinct spécios'.ï The
Long-legged Sandpiper has beorif treated in this manner,'and has latterly.
h-appearod under the name'iof Trinm /Muttl'mit. in the Fauna
lioreali-Anterieana' o'I' MV friends RICHARDSON and SVAIXSON. BONAPARTE
was,' in truth, the first whMteipïfed this: bird ; and although
potile differences might bo'found between his specimeii'and the one do-,
seribed in thè work just mentioned, thevtare trifling compared with
those which I have observed between seven or eight individuals all
procured from the same* iloek at a sing!»; sliotU! It is strange that
neither BONAPARTE noi? SWAI.VROX have mentioned the sex- of their
specimen.
On the morning of the 4th of April 1837, "while .seated among thé
drift wood that had accumulated on thé southern shore of the island of
Barataria, forty miles from the south;-west pass of the Mississippi, and
Occupied in observing some Pelicans® saw a flock of about thirty
I.onji- logged Sandpipers alight within ten steps of me, near the water.
They immediately scattered, following the margin of the retiring
and advancing waves, in search of food, which I could see them
procure by probintr the wet sand in the maimer of Curlews, that is, to
the full1 length of their iS|l,"H61'ding® for a short time in the sand, as
if engaged in sucking up what they found. In this way they continued
feeding on an extended line of shore of about thirty yards, and it was
pleasing to see the alacrity with which they simultaneously advanced
and retreated, according to the motions of the water. In about three
quarters of an hour, during all which timo had watched them with
attention, they removed aj l lw yards beyond the; highest, wash of the
waves, huddled close together, and began to plume and cleanse themselves.
All of a sudden they ceased their occupation, stood still, and
LONG-LEGGED SANDPIPER. 333
Several of ( them emitted a sharp soinewl . a t r .^embbng the
n o t e s ,,f Tetanus mlilarim ; immediately after which seven birds of
the same species passed close to me-, and- alighted near those which I
had,already watched. They « p i » M M B i • 1 t M M
that the first flock- miglài join them, and that 1 might lose the opportunity
Of procuring specimens, in sufficient number, I fired and killed
eleven. TFFLF rest flew off, a n i wore joined by the second group, the
whole flying to windward in a compact body, and emitting every now
and then their sharp tweet, iwe4, ¡«til out of sight and hearing.
My son JOHN obtained «.vera! of these birds on the same island
while they were feeding on the margins of a fresh-water pond ; and we
saw thorn on almost every island and bay on our way to the Texas,
where we also procured some oil Galveston Island.
The: flight of these Sandpipers is rapid and regular, They move compactly,
iind^tenwhen aTWrt to alight, or after disturbed, incline
their bodies to cither side, shewing alternately the upper and lower
ptets..1 On foot they movo m o r e n e Curlews than Tringas, they being
as it wort; mWe sedate in their deportment. At times, on the approach
of a person, they squat on the ground, very much in the manner
of the'Esquimaux Curlew, 'Xu/Mnius burmlis; and their flesh is as
delicate as that of the species Tjust named. In the stomach of several
individuals I found"small worms, minute'shell fish, find vegetable substances,
among which Were the hard seeds of plants unknown to rnc. I
Suspect that in summer and autumn they feed on small fruits and
berries, thoi|gfr'of this 1 have no proof.
Among' these Which we procured,' I found the differences in the
colour of the plumage quite as great as in SmUpm mwbonwemk, some
of the younger birds being yet in their winter dross, while the older had
already assumed a reddish colour oil the cheeks, the top of the head, and
thebieast. ThefenttW were all larger than the males, and differed from
each other not only in the markings'-èfHhé plumage, biit also in the
length of the bill* t6 the extent of a quarter of an inch, and of the legs,
to a still greater extent. Whether or not this species assumes a uniform
•reddish tint in the breeding season, such as is observed in the Pigmy
Ouflew, Tringa subarquata, I am unable to say, although I am much
inclined to think that it does. '"•
Their passage through the United States is very rapid, both in