110 BIRDS. PRESSIROSTRES. Strepsilas. 



and white below than in the old birds. The Knot, named after King Canute, 

 who prized it for the table, formerly visited the fens of Lincolnshire in au- 

 tumn, and was caught and fattened with the ruff. According to Montagu, 

 (Supp. Orn. Diet.), it does not now visit its former haunts, nor is it known to 

 breed in England. It probably breeds in Orkney, as I have shot one in San- 

 da on the 15th June (1U08). 



157. T. striata (Brisson). Purple Sandpiper. — Base of the 

 bill and legs yellow, the two middle tail-feathers black. 



Linn. Syst. i. 248. Fab. Faun. Groen. 107 T. maritima (Brunich), Mark- 

 wick, Linn. Trans, W. 22. — T. nigricans, Mont. ib. p. 40. — T, marit. 

 Temm. Orn. ii. 619— A winter visitant. 



Length 8|, breadth 15 h inches ; weight 2 ounces. Bill 1| long, red at the 

 base, black at the tip. Legs yellow. I rides dusky. Plumage, above, black 

 with a violet gloss, each leather margined with white ; neck and breast grey- 

 ish-white, with lanceolate, dusky spots ; middle of the belly white. Quills 

 black, the shafts and edges of the exterior webs white. Hump and two middle 

 tail-feathers black, the rest cinereous with white margins. In winter, the 

 plumage above becomes dull, with a feebler gloss of purple, and the edges of 

 the feathers have a grey margin. In the young, the feathers above are black, 

 with white changing into red margins ; and the edges of the wing-covers have 

 much white This is not uncommon on the sea-shore during winter. 



■& 



158. T. pugnax. Ruff. — Tail rounded, the two middle fea- 

 thers barred, the three lateral ones plain. 



Avis pugnax, Will. Orn. 224 — T. pugnax, Linn. Syst. i. 247 — Ruff, 

 Gambet (T. gambetta), Perm. Brit. Zool. ii. 457-405 — Ruff, Gambet, 

 Greenwich Sandpiper, Equestrian Sandpiper, and Yellow-legged Sand- 

 piper, Mont. Orn. Diet. App. and Supp. t. p. Temm. Orn. ii. fi31 



E, (males) Ruffs, (females) Reeves — A summer visitant. 



Length 1, breadth 2 feet ; weight 7 ounces. Bill yellow, sometimes black 

 at the tip. Feet yellow. Irides brown. Face naked, covered with yellow 

 warts. A spreading tuft of feathers on each side of the neck. The wing-co- 

 vers are brown, inclining to ash colour. The middle tail-feathers are barred 

 with black and brown ; the lateral ones are cinereous-brown. The lateral 

 and under covers white. The rest of the plumage subject to vary. The/<?- 

 male is smaller and destitute of a ruff, of a pale brown, the back spotted with 

 black, and edged with white — Nest in a tuft of grass in the fens. Eggs 4, 

 white, marked with rusty spots. Young like the lemale. In winter the face 

 is covered with short feathers, and the ruff of the male disappears. He is 

 very pugnaceous, and even in confinement fights readily with a rival. Ruffs 

 are taken by nets, the males especially, and fattened for the table with bread 

 and milk, and boiled wheat. They are chiefly found in the breeding season on 

 the fens of Lincolnshire. — This species forms the genus Machetes of Cuvier. 



Gen. LXXI. STREPSILAS. Turnstone.— Bill strong, 

 conical, depressed, and pointed. Wings acuminated ; the 

 first quill longest. The front toes united at the base. 



159 S. interpres. Common Turnstone. — Bill and irides 



black, feet orange. 



Morinellus marinus, Will. Orn. 231 — Tringa interpres et Morinellus, 

 Linn. Syst. i. 248 Penn. Brit. Zool. ii. 405. No. 199. and 200 Strep- 

 silas collaris, Temm. Orn. ii. 553 — E, Sea dotterel; S, Skirlcrake ; W, 

 Huttan y mor A winter visitant of England and Scotland ; station- 

 ary in Zetland. 



