632 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — LIMICOL^. 



nearly as long as the bill. Toes moderate, slender, slightly margined, the middle one about 

 three-fourths the tarsus. One species, noted for its res<;niblance to a miniature curlew. 



625. A. subarqua'tus. (Lat. suharquatm or suharcuatus, littled curved, as the hill is.) Curlew 

 Sandpiper. Ferruoineous Sandpiper. Adult: Crown of head and entire upper parts 

 lustrous greenish-black, each feather tipped and deeply indented with bright yellowish-red. 

 Wing-coverts ashy-brown, each feather with a dusky shaft-line and reddish edging. Primaries 

 deep dusky, their shafts brown at base and black at tip, the central p(jrtion nearly white. 

 Upper tail-coverts white with broad bars of dusky, and tinged at their extremity with reddish. 

 Tail light gray with greenish reflections. Sides of the neck and entire under parts uniform 

 deep brownish-red. Under tail-coverts baiTed with dusky. Axillars and under wing-coverts 

 white. Bill and legs greenish-black. Young in autumn : Crown of head and back brown- 

 ish-black, with a shght greenish lustre, each feather edged with white or reddish-yellow. 

 Rump plain dusky; upper tail-coverts white. Wing-coverts with broad grayish -wliite borders. 

 Tail light ashy, edged and tipped with white, the central feathers with a subterminal dusky 

 border in addition. Under parts entirely white, the breast and sides of the neck finely streaked 

 with dusky, the former with a light buff tinge. Length 8.50; wing 4.90; bill (average) 1..50; 

 tarsus 1.30; toe 0.90; tibia bare 0.70. Inhabits most of the Old World; in America very 

 rare, little more than a straggler along the Atlantic Coast. (For particulars of a dozen or 

 more instances of its occurrence, see New England Bird Life, vol. ii., p. 224.) 



339. TRIN'GA. (Lat. tringa or trynga or tryngas, a sandpiper.) Robin Sandpiper. Bill 

 about as long as, or rather longer than, the head, straight, stout, somewhat compressed, 

 widening uniformly from the middle to the slightly expanded, rather hard tip; the culmen 

 depressed on the terminal half to the expansion at tip, and obsoletely furrowed. Both mandi- 

 bles deeply grooved to the tip. Nostrils very large and placed far forward in the upper groove. 

 Feathers extending on the lower mandible much further than on the upper, and nearly as far 

 as those between the rami. Wings long, pointed, first primary decidedly longest. Secon- 

 daries moderately incised. Tertials short, broad, and comparatively stiff. Tail rather short, 

 nearly even, the central feathers projecting but little if any. Legs short and very stout ; 

 tarsus usually shorter than the bUl ; longer than the middle toe. Tibial feathers reaching 

 nearly to joint ; tibiae bare for nearly two-thirds the tarsus. Toes very short, and stout, fi-ee 

 at base, widely margined ; outer lateral longer than inner. Hind toe present, well developed. 

 Claws short, stout, bluut, much curved, dilated on the inner edge. Size large, form stout. 



626. T. canu'tus. (Named for King Canute.) Red-breasted Sandpiper. Ash-colored 

 Sandpiper. Gray-back. Robin-snipe. Knot. Largest of North American TringecB. 

 Bill stout, straight, rather longer than the head, upper mandible widely and deeply grooved to 

 the expansion at tip. Feathers extending on lower mandible much farther than on upper, 

 and nearly as far as those between the rami. First primary decidedly longest ; taU short, 

 nearly even ; legs short, stout ; tarsus usually shorter than the bill, but much exceeding the 

 middle toe. Adult in summer : Upper parts brownish-black, each feather broadly tipped and 

 edged with ashy-white, tinged with reddish -yellow on the scapulars. Rump dark ash, barred 

 with dusky ; upper tail-coverts white, with transverse sagittate or crescentic bars of brownish- 

 black. Tail grayish-ash, edged with ashy- white. Outer webs and tips of primaries deep 

 dusky, the inner much lighter. Secondaries and coverts grayish-ash, broadly edged and tipped 

 with ashy-white. Line over the eye and entire under parts uniform brownish-red, fading into 

 white on the flanks and under tail-coverts, which latter are marked with sagittate spots of 

 dusky. Bill and feet greenish-black. Young in autumn : Upper parts a uniform dark ash, 

 or cinereous, each feather tipped with ashy or pure white, and having a subterminal edging of 

 dusky-black, producing a conspicuous set of black and white semicircles, very characteristic of 

 tlie species in this plumage. Indistinct line over the eye, and whole under parts, white, more 

 or less tinged with light reddish, the throat, breast, and sides with rather sparse, irregularly 



