68 Zoology of Colorado 



piper (Bartramia longicauda) the tail is long (three inches), reaching 

 beyond the tips of the folded wings; the toes are webbed only 

 between the outer and middle ones. This bird inhabits the open 

 prairie, and is not attracted to bodies of water like the other 

 sandpipers. The genera Micropalama and Ereunetes are readily 

 known from all which follow by the absence of barring on the tail; 

 the bill is more or less widened at the tip. The Stilt Sandpiper 

 (Micropalama himantopus) is about eight and one-half inches 

 long, with long and slender bill. The Semipalmated Sandpiper 

 (Ereunetes pusillus) and the Western Sandpiper (E. mauri or 

 occidentalis) are smaller birds, the latter distinguished by the 

 longer bill (.88-inch in male, 1.05-inch in female). The latter 

 is extremely rare. Among the birds with barred tails, Tringa 

 (length eight and one half inches) and Actitis (length six and 

 three-fourths inches) are known by their small size. The Western 

 Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria cinnamomea) has the under 

 wing-coverts banded, and the lower breast entirely white. The 

 Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia) has the under wing-coverts 

 white and the abdomen spotted. Among the larger barred-tailed 

 species, the two kinds of Totanus are easily known by the yellow 

 legs. The Greater Yellow-legs (T. melanoleucus) is 13 inches 

 long; the Yellow-legs (7". flavipes) only about nine and one fourth 

 inches. 



The Western Willet (Charadrius semipalmatus inornatus), 

 the type locality of which is in Larimer County, has a white patch 

 on the wing and at the base of the tail. The Marbled Godwit 

 (Limosa fedoa) has no such white patches. 



The Charadriidae or plovers have the bill at most the length 

 of the head, and ending in a hard convex swelling called the 

 dertrum. The Black-bellied Plover (Squatarola squatarola cyno- 

 surae of Thayer and Bangs) is different from all the others in 

 having a small hind toe. It is uncommon in Colorado, occurring 

 in the region just east of the front range. There is a good deal 

 of confusion about the nomenclature of the other genera, both as 

 to the limits of the genera and the names to be applied to them. 

 In the Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominicus), the back is spotted, 

 and the belly is black in summer, grayish in winter. It occurs 

 occasionally during migration. The other species, formerly all 

 referred to JEgialitis, have the upper parts plain, and the belly 



