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MACHETES. RUFF. 



The bird known in Britain by the name of Ruff, Tringa 

 pugnax of various authors, has been separated from the 

 Tringa? by Cuvier, to form a genus by itself, bearing the 

 designation of Machetes or Fighter, in allusion to the com- 

 bative propensity of the males during the breeding season. 

 The bill in this genus differs in no appreciable degree from 

 that of Tringa Canutus ; the general form approaches to that 

 of Limosa ; the legs, and especially the toes, are longer than 

 in Tringa, and the latter indicate some approach to the 

 Snipes. Not being acquainted with any other species than 

 Machetes pugnax, I must take the generic character from it 

 alone. 



Bill scarcely longer than the head, straight, slender, soft 

 and somewhat flexible : upper mandible with the dorsal line 

 straight, slightly decimate for two-thirds, the ridge convex, 

 flattened toward the end, the tip slightly enlarged, obtuse, 

 and a little exceeding that of the lower, the nasal groove 

 extending nearly to the end, and filled by a concave bare 

 membrane ; lower mandible with the angle very long and 

 narrow ; the sides grooved, the tip a little enlarged and 

 obtuse. Tongue very long, slender, trigonal, channelled 

 above, pointed. 



Nostrils small, linear, pervious, basal, close to the mar- 

 gin. Eyes rather small; both eyelids densely feathered. 

 Aperture of ear rather large, roundish. Legs rather long; 

 tibia bare about a third of its length ; tarsus rather long, 

 slender, compressed, anteriorly covered with numerous nar- 

 row scutella ; toes slender, first very small and elevated ; 

 anterior toes rather long, inner a little shorter than outer, 

 third not much longer, all with numerous scutella above, 

 laterally marginate ; third and fourth connected by a basal 



