1887.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 131 



49 u>')). Limosa limosa melaiiuroides (Gould) 31('. 



1835. — Lhuosa melatiura Temm., Mau.d'Oru., 2 ed., Ill, p. lii. — Temm. & Sciileg., 



Fanuu Japuu. Aves (p. — ) (Ie'4l)).— Kittl., Denkv.., II, pp. •2y4, 314 



(leodj.— SwiXHOE, Ibis, lf;68, p. 58. 

 1846. — Limosa melanurotdes Gould, P. Z. S., 1846, p. !?4.— Pezewalski, Put. Ussuri 



(p. 54) (lb:0).—I(l., Mongol., II (p. 142), (li?T6).— Taczanowski, Journ. 



f. Oru., 1873, p. 104.-1(1, iUd., iyT4, p. 336.— /f?., Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 



18T6, p. 255.— M, ibid., 1883, p. 340.— /<?., Orn. Faun. Vest. Sibir., p. 58, 



(1877).— BoGDAN., Consp. Ay. Imp. Koss., I, p. 85 (1884.) 

 1853.— Iiwi08« a-gocephala Middendorff, Sibir. Eeise, II, ii (p. 218) (nee Lin.).— 



SwiNHOE, P. Z. S., lo63, p. 313.— Radde, Reiseu Slid. Ost-Sibir., II (p 



331) (1863). 

 1864.— ii'mosa hrevipes Schlegel, Mtis. P. B. Scolopac, p. 21 {vec Gray, 1844, quse L. 



6a«£n).— SwiNHOE, P. Z. S., 1871, p. 406.— id., Ihis, 1875, p. 4s3.— David 



& OusTALET, Ois. Chine (p. 460) (1877).— Blakist. and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, 



p. 220.— 7id., Tr. As. Soc. Jap., VIII, 1880, p. 194.— /id., ibid.,X, 1882, p. 



111.— Blakist., Amend. List. B. Jap., p. 11 (1884). 

 1884.— Ztmo«« agocephala melanuroides Dybow. & Taczan., Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 



1884, Extr., p. 2.— Stejneger, Oru. Expl. Kamtsch., p. 316 (1H85). 

 1885. — Totanus melaiiurus melanuroides Seebohm, Brit. B. Eggs, III, p. 163. 



A good specimen of the Eastern Black-tailed Godwit was collected at 

 Bering Island, June 9, 1884, by Mr. Grebnitzki, and kindly forwarded 

 to the National Museum (Grebn. No. 134, U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 106615). 

 It is a rare visitor to the islands, and possibly only an occasional strag- 

 gler. 



From the typical western Limosa limosa (Lin.) the present form only 

 differs in its proportionately shorter tarsi, as will be seen from the sub- 

 joined table of measurements, though one of the birds from Japan agrees 

 very well with the European specimens. It may also be that the west- 

 ern bird averages slightly larger. As to coloration I can detect no con- 

 stant difference, though it may be that melanuroides in full summer 

 plumage has the under tail-coverts more heavily marked with dusky. 

 My material, however, is too scanty to decide upon this point. 



The four species of Limosa are very easily distinguished by the color- 

 ation of their axillaries, with which the greater part of the under wing- 

 coverts agree. They may be identified in all plumages as follows : 



1. Limosa limosa.* ? a -n • ■, -^ 



a. Limosa Umosa melanuroides. j Axillanes pure white. 



2. Limosa lapnoniia. ^ a -n • u-^ -^i j i 



a. Limosa lapponica baueri. ^ Axillaries white with dusky marks. 



3. Limosa ha'mastica. Axillaries uniform dusky. 



4. Limosa fedoa. Axillaries cinnamou-ocher. 



* By authors who do not adopt the rule of retaining the original specific name when 

 used for the genus, this species is usually called Limosa melanura Leisler, Ibll. The 

 oldest name undoubtedly belonging to this species, after Linnsei Scolopax limosa, is 

 Limosa iotatuis Schaffer, Mus. Orn., p. 52, pi. xxv (1789), as both his description 

 and Lgure testify. Gmelin's Scolopax belgica (1788), " dorso, alis, cauda pedibusque 

 nigris," cannot be identified from the diagnosis. 



