292 BAY-BIRDS. 



large birds, approaching the decoys with great con- 

 fidence and returning again and again, till frequently 

 the entire flock is killed. In color it is a reddish- 

 brown, lighter on the abdomen, and its flight is 

 steady and rather slow. Although better eating 

 than the willet, and very rich and juicy, its flesh 

 cannot be called delicate. The ring-tailed marlin 

 or Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa Hudsonica^ Lath. 

 is a liner but much scarcer bird, and resembles some- 

 what in color the willet, but has the marlin bill, 

 which is longer than that of the last-named spe- 

 cies. 



" Specific Character. —Bill at base yellow, towards 

 the end blackish-brown; upper parts spotted and 

 barred with yellowish-grey and bro\ynish-black; 

 lower parts pale reddish-brown ; tail darker, barred 

 with black. Adult male with the bill at the base 

 yellowish-brown, towards the end black; head and 

 neck greyish-brown, tinged with pale reddish, streak- 

 ed with dusky — darker on the upper part of the 

 head and hind neck ; throat Avhitish, lower parts 

 pale reddish-brown ; under tail-coverts barred with 

 brown ; tail reddish-brown, barred with dusky ; up- 

 per tail-coverts the same ; upper parts barred with 

 brownish-black and pale reddish-brown, spotted with 

 dusky ; inner primaries tipped with yellowish-white ; 

 scapulars and wing-coverts barred with pale reddish- 

 brown and greyish-white ; shaft of the first primary 

 white, dusky at the tip; inner shafts at the base 

 white, rest part light brown, excepting the tips, 

 which are dusky. Length, sixteen inches; wing, 



