Marbled Godwit 119 



south along the coasts or across the continents to winter in South 

 America, South Africa, South Asia and Australia, besides occun-ing as 

 a wanderer in most of the islands of the three great oceans. In 

 America it chiefly winters along the coast from Vii-ginia and 

 California to ChiU and Patagonia. 



In Colorado the Sanderling is a rare transient visitor in spring and 

 autumn. It was first noticed from Colorado by Cooke, who reported 

 an example in the Museum at Fort Collins, killed in the neighbourhood. 

 Other instances are Horse Creek, May (Aiken coU.), Sloan's Lake, 

 Denver, May (H. G. Smith), Barr, May 31st and in the fall (Hersey 

 & Rockwell), Loveland, September 24th and 30th and May 12th, 

 Pueblo, October 1st (Cooke). 



Genus LIMOSA. 



Rather largo birds — wing 7 to 9 ; with a long bill slightly up- 

 curved, the culmen slightly exceeding the tarsus ; wing long and 

 pointed ; tail short and even ; legs long, tarsus far exceeding the 

 middle toe, scutellate in front and behind ; toes short, rather flattened, 

 basally webbed, especially between the inner and outer ones. 



An almost cosmopolitan genus with two common North American 

 species. The Black-tailed Hudsonian Godwit has not been met with in 

 Colorado, though known from Kansas. 



Marbled Godwit. Limosa fedoa. 



A.O.U. CheckUst no 249 — Colorado Records — Henshaw 75, p. 457 ; 

 Morrison 89, p. 168 ; Cooke 97, pp. 19, 66, 200 ; Hersey & Rockwell 

 09, p. 116. 



Description. — Adult Male— General colour cinnamon, lieavily barred 

 and mottled with dusky above, the rump, tail-coverts and tail plainly 

 barred rufous and dusky ; below finely barred with dusky on the chest 

 and sides, streaked on the throat, and white on the chin ; primaries 

 chiefly dusky, shaft of the outer one white ; lining of the wings and 

 axillarios chestnut ; iris dark brown, bill black on its terminal, reddish- 

 brcwn on its basal, half ; legs ashy-black. Length 17-5 ; wing 9-0 ; 

 tail 3-3 ; culmen 2-9 ; tarsus 2-8. 



The female is rather larger — wing 9-5, culmen 4-5. There is no 

 seasonal change, and the young birds are slightly paler and have the 

 breast and sides unmarked. 



Distribution. — Breeding chiefly in the upper Missouri Valley from 

 Iowa to southern British Columbia, and migrating south in winter 

 to Guatemala. 



The Marbled Godwit is a rare bird in Colorado, and has not yet been 

 found breeding ; it is probably only a migrant. 



