Mr. H. E. Dresser o)i the Birds of Southern Texas. 39 



111 New Orleans, where this bird is known under the name of 

 " Papabot," it is much sought after by epicures ; and I for one 

 quite agree with them in so doing, for I never tasted a better bird. 

 Indeed we ate them three times a day, whenever we could procure 

 them, and would touch nothing else. Our mode of cooking them 

 was to pluck and draw them, then split them up the back and fry 

 them in their own fat, adding a little pepper and salt ; and in 

 such good condition were they, that the melted fat would almost 

 cover them in the pan, and the process nearly became one of 

 boiling instead of frying. In some cases I have seen them so fat 

 that they actually burst on falling to the ground. 



During the winter I observed none ; but in April and May 

 1864 1 noticed a few near San Antonio ; they were, however, so 

 shy that I only shot one. 



Upper mandible dark greenish-black ; lower mandible yellow ; 

 legs pale ochre ; iris brown. Stomach containing snails. 



Tbyngites rufescens (Vieillot). Buff-breasted Sandpiper. 



Late in August, on visiting the lagoon near Matamoras early 

 one morning, I found a small flock of Sandpipers near to mc, 

 on a little grassy place a short distance from the water, and, on 

 shooting several, found them to be Buffbreasts. On visiting 

 the same place the following day I found more there, and alto- 

 gether shot about a dozen, most of which I skinned. 



On our way towards San Antonio in September we found 

 these birds pretty common throughout the whole journey, and I 

 often shot them for the pot, finding them excellent eating. 



They are not shy, and generally go in flocks of from five to 

 twelve, not resorting to the pools, but living on the small insects 

 found amongst the coarse herbage which often grows some 

 distance from water. Near Victoria they were very abundant ; 

 but after leaving that town I only saw a few. At San Antonio 

 I saw none ; but Dr. Heermann told me that they are often found 

 there in the spring and autumn. 



Male. Bill greenish-black ; legs clay-yellow ; iris dark hazel. 

 Stomach containing small insects. 



LiMOSA FEDOA (Linn.). Marbled Godwit. 



In June I noticed a few Godwits near Brownsville and Mata- 



