vi INTRODUCTION 



The measurements of every species are given in 

 four dimensions, namely, the length from tip of bill 

 to end of tail ; length of bill ; length of wing from 

 carpal joint to end of the longest primary ; and 

 length of leg, or rather the exposed portion of it 

 (the tarsus) which is most readily seen. In some 

 instances a fifth dimension is given, as in the case 

 of the Godwits, the Avocet, and some of the Sand- 

 pipers, where the bare portion of the tibia is con- 

 siderable, and serves as a mark of distinction. In 

 all cases where it has been possible to obtain them, 

 the measurements (about 1600 in all) have been 

 taken during the course of many years from freshly 

 killed specimens, and the importance of this is 

 especially noteworthy in the case of the rarer foreign 

 visitants, specimens of which are seldom available 

 for examination in a fresh state, and are usually 

 reported after the skin has shrunk in drying, and 

 the colours of the soft parts have faded beyond 

 recognition. Thus, in the case of the American 

 Yellow-shanked Sandpiper (Totanus ftavipes), the 

 entire length of the bird, ascertained from American 

 skins in the British Museum collection, is catalogued 

 as 9 in., whereas the length of a freshly killed speci- 

 men shot in Cornwall was found to be 10'75 in. ; 

 the latter measurement, consequently, has been pre- 

 ferred. It is well to bear this fact in mind when 

 comparing the measurements set down in the follow- 

 ing pages with those given elsewhere, should any 

 marked discrepancy be observable, though it will be 



