184 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



VETOLA FEDOA (Linnasus). 



MARBLED GODWIT. 



Adults in summer (sexes alike). — General color pale cinnamon (or 

 between pale pinkish buff and vinaceous-buff), becoming paler (pale 

 dull buff or dull buffy whitish) on head, the superciliar}^ region 

 (broadly) nearly if not quite immaculate except posteriorly, the 

 chin and at least upper portion of throat quite immaculate; head 

 and neck otherwise streaked with dusky, the streaks broadest on 

 pileum; scapulars and interscapulars with sooty black or fuscous- 

 black predominating, this broken by broad bars and transverse 

 spots of vinaceous-buff extending from edges of the feathers halfway 

 or more toward shafts; lesser wing-coverts dusky grayish brown 

 margined with vinaceous-buff ; middle coverts vinaceous-buff broadly 

 streaked and transversely spotted or barred with blackish; greater 

 coverts light pinkish cinnamon with narrow zig-zag bars of grayish 

 brown, the secondaries deeper light pinkish cinnamon, more mmutely 

 flecked (with transverse tendency) with grayish brown; tertials 

 dusky obliquely barred with vinaceous-buff, the bars interrupted 

 along median portion (broadly) of the feathers; primary coverts 

 sooty black, the innermost (proximal) ones less blackish, mottled 

 on outer webs with cinnamomeous, and margined terminally with 

 pale buffy; four outermost (distal) primaries sooty blackish or dark 

 fuscous, the fourth or third and fourth more or less flecked or mottled 

 along edges with pale cinnamomeous, the proximal primaries cinna- 

 mon sparsely and minutel}^ flecked with dusky, their shafts dusky 

 and (at least the longer ones) with a more or less distinct subterminal 

 spot of dusky and narrowly tipped wdth pale buffy; lower back and 

 rump pale cinnamon-buff or vinaceous-buff, each feather with a 

 broad subterminal crescentic spot of dusky (becommg narrower on 

 lower rump), the upper tail-coverts pale cinnamon-bufi or vina- 

 ceous-buff barred with dusky; four middle rectrices pale cinnamon- 

 buff or vinaceous-buff distinctly and rather regularly barred with 

 dusky, the lateral rectrices deeper cinnamomeous, with narrower, 

 irregular bars and longitudinal markings of dusky; chest, breast, 

 sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts narrowly and irregularly barred 

 with dusky, the bars broadest on sides, more irregular and more or 

 less lunulate on chest; axillars and under wing-coverts light cin- 

 namon, the former with a few narrow zig-zag bars of grayish brown, 

 the latter nearly immaculate; bill dusky terminally, brownish (dull 

 flesh color in life) for about basal half; iris dark brown; legs and feet 

 dusky (gray or bluish gray in life). 



Adults in winter. — Similar to the summer plumage, but chest 

 immaculate, except laterally, the sides and flanks very indistinctly, 

 if at all, barred. 



