The pectoral sandpiper has another snipelike habit of standing motionless in the grass, relying on its concealing coloration, where its striped plumage renders it almost invisible, even in plain sight. It moves about slowly while feeding, probing in the mud with rapid strokes. Often it stands perfectly still with its head held high, watching an intruder; the dark markings on its neck end abruptly on the white breast, breaking up the outline and helping the bird to fade into the background. It is occasionally seen swimming across a narrow creek or channel. _Voice._--This is a rather noisy bird, especially so on its breeding ground, and its short, sharp flight notes are quite characteristic of the "creaker." Mr. Nichols contributes the following good description of them: The notes of the pectoral sandpiper have a reedy character, intermediate in tone between the clearer calls of most shore birds and the hoarse cry of the Wilson's snipe. This is in keeping with its habits. Its characteristic flight note is a loud reedy _kerr_, resembling that of the semipalmated sandpiper (_cherk_) more closely than any other shore bird call, but recognizably heavier. Rarely in flight, the _kerr_ varies into or is replaced by a near-whistled _krru_. On being flushed it often has hoarse, hurried cheeping notes, analogous with similar harsher notes of the Wilson's snipe. When in a flock of its own kind, alert and on the move, it has a short, snappy flocking note, a chorus of _tcheps_ or _chips_. To my ear its flushing note is more or less a combination of flight note and flocking note, and it may reasonably be so. The flocking note communicates alertness to near-by members of a flock; the flight note is used more emphatically by birds separated from their companions or in active flight and disposed for companionship, whereas on being flushed the bird is signaling to possible companions; but as it has been feeding singly, concealed from such others as there may be by the grass, their distance is uncertain. _Field marks._--The pale-gray, almost white, tail with its dark, almost black, center and rump, is conspicuous in flight; a pale stripe in the wing is less noticeable. The snipelike colors of the upper parts, the dark, heavily streaked breast, contrasted sharply with the white under parts, and the short olive-yellow legs are good field marks when the bird is standing. The males are much larger than the females, which is unusual among shore birds. _Fall._--Regarding their departure from their breeding grounds, Murdoch (1885) says: