COMMON REDSHANK TATLEH. 335 



in length. The eyes are also small, their aperture measuring 

 two-twelfths and a half. That of the ear is elliptical, and 

 three-twelfths long. The legs are long and very slender ; 

 the tibia bare for nearly three-fourths of an inch ; the tarsus 

 compressed, with thirty anterior, and about forty posterior 

 scutella. The hind toe is very small and elevated, with six 

 scutella ; the anterior toes are rather short, distinctly mar- 

 ginate, flattened beneath, with two basal webs, of which the 

 outer is larger, but does not extend as far as the second joint 

 of the outer toe ; the second toe with twenty -four, the third 

 thirty, the fourth thirty scutella. The claws are small, com- 

 pressed, laterally grooved, slightly curved, obtuse. 



The plumage is very soft, blended, on the back and wings 

 glossy ; the feathers oblong, narrow, and rounded, those on 

 the fore part of the head short. The wings are long, pointed, 

 of twenty-five quills ; the primaries tapering, the first longest, 

 the second two-twelfths of an inch shorter, the rest rapidly 

 decreasing ; the secondaries short, incurvate, and rounded, 

 the inner elongated and tapering, one of them reaching to 

 about three-fourths of an inch from the tip of the longest 

 primary, when the wing is closed. The tail is short, and 

 doubly emarginate, but only in a slight degree. 



The bill is brownish-black, with the basal half of the 

 lower mandible yellowish-red, and that of the upper similar, 

 but of a duller tint. The irides are brown. The feet 

 yellowish-red ; the claws black. The upper part of the 

 head, and the hind part and sides of the neck, are dull light 

 brownish-grey ; the fore part of the back and the scapulars 

 are glossy greyish-brown ; as are the inner secondaries and 

 the wing-coverts, which are for the most part margined 

 with small dusky spots having the interspaces grey. The 

 rest of the back is pure white ; the tail and its upper coverts 

 white, barred with greyish-black, the two middle feathers 

 tinged with brown. The number of dark bars on the tail is 

 fifteen. The outer primaries are blackish-brown, paler on 

 the inner web ; the shaft of the first white ; the inner five 

 primaries white toward the end, barred and dotted with 

 dusky ; the secondaries, except the inner, black at the base, 

 with the rest white, a few of the inner barred or spotted 



