57. EREUNEIES. 517 



back ; tail-feathers ashy, the centre ones with a blackish mark 

 towards tho ends ; crown of head ashy, streaked with small dusky 

 spots in the centre of the feathers ; lores and a distinct eyebrow 

 white, as well as the eyelid ; sides of face and ear-coverts ashy, 

 with narrow dusky lines ; cheeks and under surface of body pure 

 white : the sides of the neck, and especially the fore-neck and lower 

 throat, streaked with small dusky spots, in rows ; on the centre of 

 the lower throat some faint indications of dusky lines ; under wing- 

 -coverts white, the lower greater coverts ashy : " bill black, becoming 

 greenish olive on the basal part of the mandible ; feet greenish 

 olive ; iris dark brown " (Baird, Brewer, <$f Bidgivai/). Total 

 length 5*6 inches, culmen 085, wing 3-7, tail 1*5, tarsus 085. 



Adult male in summer plumage. Differs from the winter plumage 

 in being much more mottled, the upper surface being deep cinna- 

 mon with black markings, taking the form of sub-terminal spots ; 

 the head also cinnamon, broadly streaked with black ; the hind-neck 

 and upper mantle ashy, tinged with rufous and broadly streaked 

 with black ; wings as in the winter plumage, but the quills with 

 more strongly developed white shafts and the secondaries with a 

 good deal of white on the inner webs ; lores and eyebrow white, 

 but the ear-coverts tinged with cinnamon ; cheeks and under 

 surface of body white, but the black streaks much broader every- 

 where and distributed over the lower throat, breast, and sides of 

 body, taking the form of arrow-head spots in many places ; sides 

 of upper breast tinged with cinnamon. 



Adult female in breeding-plumage. Much darker than in winter, 

 with the centres of the feathers black, and with ashy-whitish margins. 

 There is scarcely any of the cinnamon-rufous colour on the back 

 which distinguishes the male, and the spots and markings on the 

 chest and flanks are not so thickly distributed. Total length 5'5 

 inches, wing 3 - 8, tail 1*6, tarsus 09. 



Young. Has a strong tinge of cinnamon-rufous on the upper 

 surface, which consequently much resembles the breeding-plumage 

 of the adult male, but the young birds can always be recognized by 

 the very distinct white edges to the scapulars and inner secondaries ; 

 .the hind-neck is ashy brown, in contrast to the head and back ; the 

 under surface is pure white, with a few dusky streaks on the sides 

 of the chest and upper breast, and with a tinge of ochraceous buff 

 across the fore-neck. This latter character is also a sure sign of 

 immaturity. 



From the striking difference in the length of the bill exhibited by 

 a series of this species, it is easy to understand that two races have 

 generally been recognized by ornithologists. I find, however, every 

 ■possible gradation between the two extremes, and the measurements 

 of the culmen given below show that no line of demarcation can be 

 drawn, and I have consequently united E. occidentalis and E.pttsiUus. 

 It will likewise be noticed that tho long-billed and short-billed 

 forms occur together, both in their northern breeding-places as well 

 .as in their winter homes. 



Hub. The same as that of the genus. 



