PLOVERS. 5] 
the Jack Snipe (Limnocryptes gallinula) (4173) are winter visitors, the 
former, however, being comparatively rare. 
The next subfamily, Totanine, occupying the remainder of Case 27 [ 
and the floor of Case 28, includes the Sandpipers and Godwits, most of ~~ 
which have distinct summer- and winter-plumages, as well as the Curlews. 
Of these the Dunlin (486), Ruff (690), Greenshank (498), Redshank 
(506), Common Sandpiper (502), Curlew (519), and Whimbrel (516) 
breed in the British Isles, though the Ruff and Whimbrel are local and 
rare. Many others, such as the Knot (484), Curlew- (483), Purple (482), 
Wood- (499) and Green (497) Sandpipers, Little Stint (488), Sanderling 
(491), Spotted Redshank (597), and the Bar-tailed (509) and Black- 
tailed Godwits (508) visit our coasts regularly; while among the 
occasional visitors are the Broad-billed (485), American Pectoral (481), 
Bonaparte’s (480), Baird’s (489 a), Buff-breasted (493), Bartram’s 
(494), Solitary (498), and Snipe-billed or Red-breasted (511) Sand- 
pipers, the American (487) and Temminck’s (489) Stints, Spotted Sand- 
piper (501), Ycllowshank (508), Marsh Sandpiper (504), and Eskimo 
Curlew (518). 
Among the typical Sandpipers, perhaps the most striking form on 
account of its remarkable bill, is. the little Spoon-billed Sandpiper 
(Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) (490), a native of Eastern Asia. As regards 
variety of colour the polygamous Ruff (Pavoncella pugnax) (600) is quite 
peculiar. During the breeding-season the face of the male becomes 
covered with small yellow warts, the fore-neck develops an enormous 
“puff” of feathers which can be erected or depressed at will, and the 
head is adorned with tufts of feathers or ‘‘ ears ” which are also erectile. 
Both “ruff” and “ ear-tufts ’ are specially remarkable for the range of 
their colour, which may be white, rufous, or black, with or without bars, 
the variation being endless and alike in no two individuals. In winter 
both sexes are very similar in plumage, but the female, commonly called 
the Reeve, may always be distinguished from the male by her smaller 
size. The Ruff is polygamous, and the males during the spring are very 
pugnacious, and have a curious habit of assembling in small parties to 
contend in a kind of tournament for the possession of the females, which 
are said to outnumber them. 
The difference between the summer- and winter-dress of the Godwits 
(Limosa) (508-510) is most conspicuous ; in the former bright chestnut- 
red is the dominant colour, while in the latter the general tone is 
grey and white. In the Curlews (Numenius) (613-519) these seasonal 
differences are very slight. 
The Ibis-billed Curlew (Jbidorhynchus struthersi) (520), from the 
inland streams of Central Asia, China, and the Himalaya, is the unique 
type of the next subfamily, and worthy of special notice. It is more 
nearly allied to the Oyster-catchers than the Curlews and resembles the 
former in its habits. 
E 2 
[Case 28.] 
