LONG-BILLED DOWITCHEE 359 



surface ta\Yuy, the feathers tipped obscurely with white, and some with small 

 terminal spots or streaks of brownish black; under tail coverts pale tawny 

 or whitish, spotted and barred with brownish black; feathers of sides and 

 flanks tawny, barred with brownish black; feet with small webs between 

 bases of toes, "light yellowish olive," claws "dusky" (Audubon, loc. cit.). 

 Males: Total length 10.81-11.75 inches (274-298 mm.) (two specimens); folded 

 wing 5.57-5.89 (141.2-149.6); bill along culmen 2.13-2.32 (54.2-58.9); tarsus 

 1.36-1.47 (34.6-37.4) (ten specimens). Females: Total length 12.00-12.12 (305- 

 308) (two specimens); folded wing 5.65-6.10 (143.5-154.7); bill along culmen 

 2.24-2.80 (56.9-71.2); tarsus 1.40-1.65 (35.5-41.9) (ten specimens); all from 

 California. Adults, both sexes, in fall and winter: Top of head, hind neck, and 

 back, quite uniform grayish brown, most of the feathers with obscurely darker 

 shafts; eyelids and stripe from upper mandible to eye, white; area between 

 side of upper mandible and eye, grayish brown; lower side of head and chin, 

 mixed drab and white in fine pattern; rump white; upper tail coverts and 

 tail, barred with white and brownish black as in summer; wing and coverts 

 as in summer; throat, chest and sides, pale grayish brown, some of the feathers 

 with narrow dark brown shaft streaks; belly white; flanks and lower tail 

 coverts barred with brown and white. Juvenile plumage: Top of head and 

 back chiefly blackish, with much feather-edging of clay-color; scapulars and 

 tertials the same; rump and tail as in adults; wing coverts broadly outlined 

 with white or dull clay; chin whitish finely flecked with dusky; throat, chest 

 and sides, dull buffy brown with obscure dusky spotting; belly dull whitish; 

 flanks dull buffy, barred obscurely with dusky; lower tail coverts buffy white 

 speckled with duskj^ Natal plumage: Top of head deep chestnut brown, 

 bordered on each side by a line of white, the two lines meeting on hind neck; 

 streak down middle of forehead and another from bill to eye, black; sides of 

 head and neck tawny, much obscured with dusky on ear region; back deep 

 chestnut brown, marbled with black and scatteringly marked with white 

 especially on hind neck and wings; throat buffy white; breast dull orange, 

 paling to buff on belly; flanks like back. 



Marks for field identification — Moderate size (near Wilson Snipe), white 

 rump, narrow light bars on wing, long bill (fig. 65) held downward at an angle 

 to body, swift erratic flight, open flock formation when feeding; in spring and 

 summer, conspicuously tawny breast, in winter uniform grayish brown upper 

 surface. 



Voice — In fall, a deep guttural chirp; a whistled note (several authors). 

 In breeding season a strident peet-u-weet ; wee-too, wee-too; also peet-peet ; 

 pee-ter-wee-too, etc. (Nelson, 1887, p. 101). 



Nest — Placed on mossy or bare ground usually in a marshy area; a slight 

 depression in the ground or in a grassy hummock, often without lining of any 

 sort save that formed by dead grasses naturally underlying the spot. 



Eggs — 4, pear-shaped, measuring in inches, 1.69 to 1.87 by 1.20 to 1.25 (in 

 millimeters, 42.9 to 47.5 by 30.5 to 31.7), and averaging 1.75 by 1.22 (44.4 by 

 31.0); ground color clay or grayish, sometimes with a greenish cast; large 

 well defined dark umber brown spots, sparse except about large end where they 

 are crowded (Nelson, 1887, p. 101). 



General distribution — Western North America and Middle America. 

 Breeds from Point Barrow to mouth of the Yukon Eiver, Alaska, and east 

 to northwestern Mackenzie; winters from Louisiana and Florida south into 

 Mexico and the Gulf region. In migration occurs over whole United States, 

 but most abundantly in the West, and but sparingly, on eastern coast from 



