Birds 67 



complex assemblage, but the curlews will be known by the long 

 bill turned downward at the end. Our form is the Long-billed 

 Curlew (Numenius americanus), a large bird, 20 inches or more in 

 length, with dagger-like markings. The smaller Hudsonian 

 Curlew (Phoeopus hudsonicus) is only rarely seen. The Eskimo 

 Curlew (Mesoscolopax borealis) must certainly have ranged into 

 Colorado at one time, but there are no records. It is now almost 

 extinct.* It is a comparatively small bird, with little curved bill. 



The Sanderling (Crocethia alba of Pallas)** is known by the 

 absence of the hind toe; it is a rare visitor. The remaining 14 

 genera, possessing a hind toe, include 19 species, but of these 

 Tryngites subrupicollis (see Condor, vol. 14. p. 151) and Pelidna 

 alpina sakhalina are merely stragglers from the regions they nor- 

 mally inhabit. The snipe group is peculiar for having the ear 

 under the eye (under the anterior corner in the woodcock). In 

 the American Woodcock (Philohela minor)*** the three outer quill 

 feathers are abruptly narrowed apically. The Wilson Snipe or 

 Jack Snipe (Gallinago delicata) has 16 tail feathers and streaky 

 plumage, while the Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolo- 

 paceus) has 12 tail feathers and mottled plumage. The latter 

 bird was named by Say; he obtained it on Long's Expedition near 

 the present city of Council Bluffs, Iowa. 



The sandpiper group has the ears in the ordinary position, 

 behind the eyes. The two genera, Pisobia and Pelidna, have the 

 toes wholly without webbing. In the White-rumped Sandpiper 

 (Pisobia fuscicollis) the upper tail coverts are white with slight 

 streaking; but in the other three kinds of Pisobia they are blackish. 

 These latter will be known by their size; the Pectoral Sandpiper 

 (P. maculata) about eight to nine and one-half inches long, the 

 Baird Sandpiper (P. bairdi of Coues) about seven to seven and 

 one-half inches, the Least Sandpiper (P. minutilla) about five to 

 six and three quarters. 



There still remains a series of genera in which the toes are 

 more or less webbed. In the Upland Plover or Bartramian Sand- 



*M. H. Swenk, The Eskimo Curlew and Its Disappearance, Smithsonian Report for 1915- 

 (1916). 



**Peter Simon Pallas, 1741-181 I, was a German Naturalist who went to Russia at there- 

 quest of the Empress Catherine II, tc investigate the flora and fauna of the Russian dominions. 

 This he did most effectively, discovering and describing great numbers of plants, birds, etc.. 

 taking all animated nature for his province. 



***AIso called Rubicola minor. 



