SCOLOI'ACID.E— THE SNIPE FAMILY. 71 



Baied. Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 5l'.i— Coues. Key, 1872, 202; Check List, 1873, No. 441; 



2d ed. 1882, No. 643; Birds L N. W. 1874, 508— Ridgw. Norn. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 558; 



Man. N. Am. B. 1887, 170.-B. B. & R. Water B. N. Am. i, 1884, 311.-A. O. U. Checklist. 



1886, No. 264. 

 Numenius occidentalis Woodh. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sei. Phila. vi, 1852, 194; Sitgreaves' Rep. 



1853, 98, pi. 6 (= young; Albuquerque, N. M.h 

 Hab. Temperate North America, migrating south to Guatemala. Cuba; Jamaica; 

 Brazil (V). 



Sr. Char. The largest American species of this genus. Bill very long, much curved ; 

 upper mandible longer than the under, somewhat knobbed at the tip; wing rather long; 

 legs moderate; toes united at base. Entire upper parts pale rufous, tinged with ashy; 

 every feather with transverse and confluent bands of brownish black, most numerous and 

 predominating on the back and scapulars; secondary quills, under wing-coverts, and 

 axillars, cinnamon-rufous; primaries with their outer webs brownish black and their inner 

 webs rufous, with transverse bands of black. Under parts pale rufous, with longitudinal 

 lines of black on the neck and sides; tail rufous, tinged with ashy, transversely barred 

 with brownish black. Bill brownish black; baso of under mandible reddish yellow; legs 

 bluish brown. Specimens vary to some extentin the shade of the rufous color of the plum- 

 age, and very much in the length of the bill. The rufous color is probably more distinct in 

 the young. Total leDgth, about 25.00 inches ; extent, about 40.00; wing, 10.00-11.00; tail, 4.00; 

 bill, 2.30 (immature individual) to 8.50; tarsus, 2.25. Bill black, becoming dull light lilac- 

 brown on basal half of the mandible; iris brown; legs and feet gray. 



Downy young. Very pale oehraceous with a tinge of sulphur-yellow, rather deepei be- 

 low than above. Upper parts marbled coarsely and rather irregularly with black. Bill 

 straight, about 1.40 inches long. 



This bird appears to vary in size quite materially, and in the 

 length of bill in different specimens so much so as to be quite 

 perplexing; in fact, the bills of scarcely any two specimens are 

 of the same length. In color, also, there is considerable 

 variety, but the species can readily be distinguished. 



There are in the National Museum rolled ion specimens which 

 are undoubtedly .V. occidentalis, Woodhouse, as above cited. 

 The clear rufous of the plumage and the shorter hill, as given 

 by Dr. Woodhouse, are present in these specimens : hut the rufous 

 color is very probably characteristic ofyoung age. while in I he col- 

 lection almost any length of bill can l»<' produced, the extremes 

 being aboul 2.30 and 8.50. 



The Long-billed Curlew or "Sickle-bill" is more or les> com- 

 mon, according to the locality, during the migrations. Mr. 

 Nelson refers t<> it in his list (p. 130) as follows: 



"Formerly \rery abundanl during the migrations and a com- 

 mon summer resident. Now rather unco ion in the migra- 

 tions and ;i very rare summer resident. A pair nested on the 

 Calumet Marshes the spring of 1873. Mure numerous on the 

 large marshes in central Illinois. Arrives the last of April and 

 departs in < October." 



