— ee — ee Pe oe ees, CL 
i 
SCOLOPACID®, SNIPE, ETC.—GEN. 204, 205. 253 
generically: legs long; tibie bare upwards of ? of an inch; tarsus longer 
than middle toe and claw; outer and middle toes connected by an evident 
membrane ; tail of 12 feathers. ‘Tail and its coverts, at all seasons, conspic- 
uously barred with black and white (or tawny) ; lining of wings, and axillars, 
the same; quills dusky, shaft of first primary, and tips of secondaries except 
the long inner ones, white; bill and feet greenish-black. In summer, 
brownish-black above, variegated with bay ; below, brownish-red, variegated 
with dusky; a tawny superciliary stripe, and a dark one from bill to eye. 
Fic. 164. Red-breasted Snipe; with end of bill, from above. 
In winter, plain gray above, and on the breast, with few or no traces of 
black and bay, the belly, line over eye, and under eyelid, white. 10-11; 
wing 5-54; tail 24; bill about 24; tarsus 14; middle toe and ‘claw 14. 
A variety of this bird is almost a foot long, the bill upward of 3 inches 
(M. scolopaceus Lawr., Ann. Lyc. 1852, 4, pl. 1; Cass. in Bp., 712). 
North America, at large; abundant, migratory; it generally flies in large 
compact flocks, like the sandpipers and shore-birds generally, rather than 
singly or in wisps like the true snipe; and prefers the shores of bays and 
estuaries, instead of wet meadows. WItsS., vii, 45, pl. 58, f. 1; Nurr., ii, 
ialeeAnD:, vi, LO, pl. dois) Cass.in Bp., 712: . . . . . GRISEUS: 
205. Genus MICROPALAMA Baird. 
Stilt Sandpiper. Bill much as in the last genus, but shorter, less 
evidently widened at the end and not so distinctly furrowed on top, some- 
times perceptibly curved; legs very long; tibiz bare an inch; tarsus as long 
as the bill, both 14-13; feet semipalmate, the front toes being connected by 
two evident webs; middle toe 1. Length 8-9; wing 5; tail 24; plumage 
resembling that of the last species, its changes the same. Adult in summer: 
above blackish, each feather edged and tipped with white and tawny or bay, 
which on the scapulars becomes scalloped; auriculars chestnut; a dusky 
line from bill to eye, and a light reddish superciliary one; upper tail coverts 
white with dusky bars; primaries dusky with blackish tips; tail feathers 12, 
ashy-gray, their edge and a central field white; under parts mixed reddish, 
black and whitish, in streaks on the jugulum, elsewhere in bars; bill and 
feet greenish-black. Young, and adult in winter: ashy-gray above, with or 
without traces of black and bay, the feathers usually with white edging ; line 
over the eye and under parts white, the jugulum and sides suffused with the 
color of the back, and streaked with dusky; legs usually pale. N. Am., 
