. THE SOLITARY SANDPIPER. 457 
firmness of its resting-place. I have sometimes thought 
that it might be a habit caused by the bird frequenting flats 
on which the mud was soft and yielding. This is one of 
the handsomest of our Waders. In the autumn, it is fat, 
and in poor plumage ; but in the spring it is in good condi- 
tion for cabinet preservation. 
RHYACOPHILUS, Kaur. 
Ehyacophilus, KAup, Sk. Entw. Europ. Th. (1829). (Type Z'ringa glareola, L., 
Gray.) 
Bill slender, but widening a little towards the end; lateral grooves of both man- 
dibles extending to the middle of bill; nostril short; feathers on side of bill extend- 
ing to about the same point and as far as beginning of nostrils; those of chin as 
far as their end; both mandibles curved upwards slightly from middle; legs short; 
bill about the length of tarsus, which is equal to middle toe; bare portion of tibia 
about two-thirds the toes; tail about opposite the middle of toes when outstretched. 
» 
RHYACOPHILUS SOLITARIUS. — Bonaparte. 
The Solitary Sandpiper. 
Tringa solitaria, Wilson. Am. Orn., VII. (1813) 53. 
Totanus solitarius, Audubon. Birds Am., V. (1842) 309. 
Totanus chloropygius. Nutt., II. 159. Aud. Orn. Biog., III. (1835) 576; V. 583. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Bill rather longer than the head, straight, slender, compressed; both mandibles 
with narrow grooves; wing long, pointed; tail medium or rather short, rounded; 
legs rather long, slender; lower half of the tibia naked; toes long, the outer united 
to the middle by a small membrane, flattened underneath, marginated; upper parts 
greenish-brown, with numerous small circular and irregular spots of ashy-white; 
upper tail coverts darker; under parts white; breast and neck before with numerous 
longitudinal lines of greenish-brown; sides, axillaries, and under wing coverts 
white, with numerous transverse narrow bands of dark greenish-brown; under tail 
coverts white, with a few transverse bands of dark-brown; quills brownish-black, 
with a slight bronzed or reddish lustre on the primaries; two middle feathers of the 
tail greenish-brown; other feathers of the tail pure-white, with about five transverse 
bands of brownish-black; bill and legs dark greenish-brown; iris hazel. 
Total length, about eight to eight and a half inches; wing, five; tail, two and a 
quarter; bill, one and a quarter; tarsus, one and a quarter inches. 
Hab. — Entire temperate regions of North America; Mexico. 
The Solitary Sandpiper is not very common in any part 
of New England. It arrives from the South early in May 
in pairs, and frequents the shores of our fresh-water ponds 
