SCOLOPACID.E — THE SNIPE FAMILY — TRYNGITES. 



305 



Genus TRYNGITES, Cabanis. 



Tringites, Cab. Jouiii. fur Orn. 18y(5, 418 (type, Trhuja rufescens, Vieill. ). 



Char. Upper mandible grooved to about the terminal fourth ; the lower not quite so far. 

 Culmen and gonys about straight. Mouth deeply cleft more than half way to the eye ; the culmen 

 about two thirds the commissure. Culmen much shorter than the head, and about equal to middle 

 toe without claw. Tarsus about one and one sixth as long as middle toe and claw. Bare part of 



T. rufescens. 



tibia decidedly shorter than middle toe without claw. Toes cleft to the base, with only a very 

 rudimentary web. Upper jaw feathered to the nostrils ; the side of the lower and beneath feath- 

 ered much farther, or to the end of the nostrils ; the interspace of the rami entirely filled. Tail 

 somewhat graduated, not half the wing. 



Tryngites rufescens. 



THE BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. 



Tringa rufescens, Yi'E.ii.h. Nouv. Diet. XXXIV. 1819, 470 (Louisiana). — Nutt. Man. II. 1834, 

 113.— AuD. Orn. Biog. III. 1835, 451, pi. 265 ; Synop. 1839, 235 ; B. Am. V. 1842, 264, pi. 



331. 

 Tnjngites rufescens, Caban. J. f. 0. 1856, 418 (Cuba). — Cassin, in Baird's B. N. Am. 1858, 739. 



— Baird, Cat. N. Ani. B. 1859, no. 546. — CouES, Key, 1872, 260; Check List, 1873, no. 



439 ; 2d ed. 1882, no. 641 ; Birds N. W. 1874, 506. — PaDGW. Norn. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 556. 

 " Tringa suhruficolUs, Vieill." (Gray and Schleg.). 

 "Tri/iga brevirostris, Lichtexstein " (Gray and Schleg.). 

 Actidurus ncevius, Heerm. Pr. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philad. VII. 1854, 179 ; Pacific R. R. Rep. X. pt. VI. 



1859, 20, pi. 6 (Texas). 



Hab. North America in general, especially the interior ; breeding chiefly in the interior of 

 British America and the Yukon district ; migrating south to Peru and Uruguay. Frequent in 

 Europe. No West Indian record, except Cuba. 



Sp. Char. Bill shorter than the head, straight, compressed, narrow at the point ; nasal 

 wroove lona ; wings very long, the first quill longest ; tertiaries rather shorter ; tail moderate or 

 longer than usual in this group ; legs rather long, lower third of the tibia naked ; toes free at base, 

 flattened underneath, and slightly margined ; hind toe small. Upper parts pale and dull ochra- 

 ceous, with an ashy tinge ; every feather with a large central, lanceolate, crescent-shaped, or oblong 

 spot of black, frequently with a glossy green tinge, especially on the back and shorter tertiaries. 



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