GODWITS. 



363 



deposit is soft and deep, and in which, by probing with their long 

 and semi-flexible bills, they find the materials upon which they 

 feed. When thus engaged, these birds are frequently seen with 

 their head entirely under water, and accordingly they arc amply 

 provided with a gland, situated above the eye, whose function 

 appears to be that of lubricating and defending this delicate organ 

 from the effects of saline and other fluids. They are subject to a 

 double moult, and their nuptial dress is very different from the 





Fig. 182.— The Red Uodwit {Liniosa rufa). 



plumage they wear during the other parts of the year. The 

 females are much larger than the males. Like the other Scolo- 

 pacidae, they are migratory, and their passage takes place at the 

 same periods. 



The birds of this sub-family have some resemblance to the 

 snipes, and also to the tringas ; but their legs are longer, and 

 perhaps also stouter in proportion to their size, and their bodies 

 more lightly made. The chief diflerence, however, is in the bill, 

 which in birds that, as regards their haunts, are such close neigh- 

 bours, is the most important. The bills of the godwits are very 

 long, soft, and flexible for their whole length, rather compressed 

 and triangular at the base, depressed in the rest of the length, 

 and dilated and obtuse at the tip, but not enlarged into a knob 



