ONTARIO. 



neck are tinged with pale rufus, but in autumn the whole lowdr 

 parts are as white as snow. It is a very active species, and 

 when feeding along the shore, shows great celerit}' in following 

 the receding wave, or keeping clear of the next one that rolls 

 up on the Beach. When wounded in the wing, it will run with 

 great swiftness, and even take to the water and swim well. In 

 spring their visits to Hamilton Bay are uncertain and of short 

 duration, but on the return trip they appear about the end of 

 August and are found all through the fall. 



L 



Genus LIMOSA Brisson. 



99. LIMOSA FEDOA (Linn.). 249. 



Marbled Godwit. 



Tail barred throughout with black and rufous, rump and upper tail- 

 coverts like the back ; no pure white anywhere. General plumage rufous or 

 cinnamon-brown ; below, nearly unmarked and ot very variable shade, 

 usually deepest on the lining of the wing ; above, variegated with black and 

 brown or gray ; quills rufous and black ; bill flesh-colored largely tipped with 

 black ; feet dark. Large ; length, 16-22 ; wing, about 9 ; tail, about 3J ; bill, 

 4-5; tibia bare i-i^; tarsus, 2^-3^, ij, stout; 



Hab. North America ; breeding in the interior (Missouri region and 

 northward), migrating in winter southward to Central America and Cuba. 



Nest on the prairie. 



Eggs 3 to 4 ; olive-drab spotted with various shades of umber-brown. 



The Marbled Godwit is occasionally seen singly or in pairs on 

 the lake shores of Ontario during the season of migration, but 

 these can only be regarded as stragglers, as we learn that in 

 spring it passes up the Mississippi Valley in flocks of consider- 

 able size, and has been found nesting in Iowa, Minnesota and 

 Dakota. It was also found by Prof. Macoun " feeding in large 

 flocks along the Salt marshes at Old Wives Lakes and other 

 points" in the Northwest. 



It is a handsome bird, in general appearance resembling the 

 Curlews, from which, however, it can readily be distinguished 

 by its straight bill. 



103 



