THE SOLITARY SANDPIPER. 457 



firmness of its resting-place. I have sometimes thought 

 that it might be a habit caused by the bird frequenting flats 

 on which the mud was soft and yielding. This is one of 

 the handsomest of our Waders. In the autumn, it is fat, 

 and in poor plumage ; but in the spring it is in good condi- 

 tion for cabinet preservation. 



RHYACOPHILUS, Kaup. 



RhyacopJiilus, Kaup, Sk. Entw. Europ. Th. (1829). (Type Tnnga glareola, L., 

 Gray.) 



Bill slender, but widening a little towards the end; lateral grooves of both man- 

 dibles extending to the middle of bill; nostril short; feathers on side of bill extend- 

 ing to about the same point and as far as beginning of nostrils; those of chin as 

 far as their end; both mandibles curved upwards slightly from middle; legs short; 

 bill about the length of tarsus, which is equal to middle toe; bare portion of tibia 

 about two-thirds the toes; tail about opposite the middle of toes when outstretched. 



RHYACOPHILUS SOLITARIUS. — Bonaparte. 



The Solitary Sandpiper. 



Tringa solUaria, Wilson. Am. Orn., VII. (181.3) 53. 



Tolanus solitarius, Audubon. Birds Am., V. (1842) 309. 



Totanus chloropygius. Nutt, II. 159. Aud. Orn. Biog., III. (1835) 576; V. 583. 



Description. 



Bill rather longer than the head, straight, slender, compressed; both mandibles 

 with narrow grooves; wing long, pointed; tail medium or rather short, rounded; 

 legs rather long, slender; lower half of the tibia naked; toes long, the outer united 

 to the middle by a small membrane, flattened underneath, marginated; upper parts 

 greenish-brown, with numerous small circular and irregular spots of ashy-white; 

 upper tail coverts darker; under parts white; breast and neck before with numerous 

 longitudinal lines of greenish-brown; sides, axillaries, and under wing coverts 

 white, with numerous transverse narrow bands of dark greenish-brown ; under tail 

 coverts white, with a few transverse bands of dark -brown; quills brownish-black, 

 with a slight bronzed or reddish lustre on the primaries; two middle feathers of the 

 tail greenish-brown; other feathers of the tail pure-white, with about five transver.«e 

 bands of brownish-black ; bill and legs dark greenish-brown ; iris hazel. 



Total length, about eight to eight and a half inches; wing, five; tail, two and a 

 quarter; bill, one and a quarter; tarsus, one and a quarter inches. 



Hab. — Entire temperate regions of North America; Mexico. 



The Solitary Sandpiper is not very common in any part 

 of New England. It arrives from the South early in May 

 in pairs, and frequents the shores of our fresh-water ponds 



