TRINGA PECTORALIS. 



PECTORAL SANDPIPER. 



[Plate XXIII. Fig. 2.] 



Pelidna pecforalis, Sat, in Long^s Exp. i., p. 171. — Tringa pectoralis, Nob. Cat. 

 Birds U. S. Id. Si/nops. Sp. 250. Id. Speech, eomp. — Tringa campestris ? Light. 

 Cat. u.^ Vogel. p. 74, Sp. 764. Tringa cinclus dominicensis ? Briss. ^jj. v., p. 

 219, Sp. 12, pi. 24, fig. l.— Chorlito a cou hrun? Azara, iv., p. 284, Sp. 404.— 

 Alouette de mer de St. Domingue, Briss. loc. cit. 



This humble species, well marked, though closely allied to several 

 other Sandpipers, is, as well as I can judge, accurately described and 

 figured by Brisson ; but since then unnoticed even by compilers, his 

 description had become obsolete, when Say found the bird in the western 

 territory, and we replaced it in the records of the science. We have 

 since shot it repeatedly on the shores of New Jersey, where it is com- 

 mon. The species appears to be spread throughout the states, extending 

 farther into the interior than most of its family : beyond the Mississippi 

 it is very common ; many flocks of them were seen by Major Long s 

 party both in the spring and autumn at Engineer Cantonment, and it 

 is often met with in small parties on the coasts of the Middle States in 

 the latter part of autumn. It also inhabits the West Indies, and, if we 

 are correct in our reference to Azara, is found in Brazil and Montevideo. 



Unlike other Sandpipers, this is not addicted to bare sandy places, 

 but on the contrary is fond of damp meadows, where it shows some of 

 the habits of the Snipe. Solitary individuals are often seen, starting 

 up from before the sportsman's feet much in the manner of that bird. 



The family to which this bird belongs has been admitted by all 

 authors, under various names, and comprehending more or less aberrant 

 genera. It was first established by Illiger, but he excluded from it 

 laose which by an unimportant deviation are destitute of a hind toe, 

 which he placed in his artificial family of Littorales, while he included 

 in it some true Charadridce on account of the presence of a rudiment of 

 this member. Vieillot took the same view, calling the two artificial 

 families Helionomi, and jS^gialites ; as did Ranzani and Savi under 

 the names of Limieole and Tacliidrome ; and Mr. Vigors erred in like 

 manner by distributing the genera between his too extensive families of 

 Qharadriadce and Scolopacidce. The arrangement of Cuvier and 

 Latreillc is in this instance much more consonant to nature : these 

 authors called their better composed, though still far from perfect 

 family, Longirostres. 



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