u9. 
SCOLOPACIDA): GODWITS. 635 
reaching nearly to end of bill; symphyseal groove less extended. Gape of mouth moderate, 
searcely cleft beyond base of culmen, as in Snipes and Sandpipers, not as usual among Tattlers. 
Wing long and pointed; tail short and square. Tibia denuded below for a moderate space. 
§ gs p *! } 
Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw, scutellate before and behind, reticulate on sides. ‘Toes 
s ) ) 
short and stout, much flattened underneath, and widely margined; outer and middle semi- 
palmate, inner and middle with a slight web. Size large; general aspect curlew-like, but 
bill recurved, not decurved. In character of bill approaching Snipes, especially Macrorhamphus, 
to which it is nearly related in some other respects, as seasonal changes of plumage of most 
y ? = if c 
species. Sexes similar. Two N. Am. species, and two others, occurring in Alaska and 
Greenland, from Asia and Eurupe. 
Analysis of Species. 
Rump, tail and its upper coverts barred thronghout with blackish and rufous. Lining of wings chestnut, 
No extensive barring on under parts. No great seasonal changes of plumage ? Feathers not extend- 
ing on side of under mandible far beyond those on upper. . . . : es en A (G28 
Rump, tail, and its upper coverts barred ye with white and Binoks: Lining of wings and axillars 
white, with dusky marks .... . » . uropygialis 681 
Rump blackish, upper tail-coverts testy Sis “tail Bisel with white fase ene tip. Under parts in 
summer intense ferruginous, barred throughout. Lining of wings mostly blackish. Feathers extend- 
ing on side of lower mandible to a point beyond those on upper . . . - . « « hemastica 629 
Similar to LZ. hemastica ; rump, tail and its coverts substantially the same. Giiniag of wings and axillars 
WHLLUO Gta otro) teh Uoeysh oc 9), Scere mE GU TT oMatemn chm as ah chetelinion ren se \e) 4s im’! tenis rowiney ol CRQOCOD LALA. G30: 
L. foe'da. (Lat. feda, ugly, ungainly, unseemly. Fig. 442.) GREAT MARBLED GopwiT. 
Maruin. Feathers not extending on side of lower mandible to a point far beyond those on upper. 
No white anywhere; rump, tail, and its coverts barred 
throughout with blackish and the body-color. Lining 
of wings chestnut; axillars the same, more or less 
barred with black. General color rufous or light dull 
cinnamon-red, uniform and nearly uninterrupted on 
all the under parts, richer and more chestnut on the 
lining of the wings and axillars; somewhat marked 
with dusky on the sides of the breast and body; on 
the whole upper parts variegated with the brownish- 
black central field of each feather, the blackish pre- 
dominating, leaving the rufous chiefly as scallops and 
tips of the feathers. This rufous very variable in in- 
tensity ; usually paler on upper than on under parts, 
and strongest under the wings. Primaries rufous, 
successively darkening from last to first, the outer 
webs and ends of the few outer ones blackish, the Fic. 442. — Godwit, greatly reduced. (From 
shaft of the first white. Bill livid flesh-colored, PEP sents a eaae) 
blackish on about terminal third; legs ashy-blackish. Large: length 16.00-22.00 inches; 
extent 30.00-40.00; wing somewhere about 9.00; tail 3.00-4.00; bill 3.50-5.50, generally 
about 4.00; tarsus 3.00, more or less; middle toe and claw 1.50; few birds vary more in 
size. Sexes not distinguishable; no ashy and whitish plumage known. Temperate N. Am ; 
the largest of the ‘‘ bay-birds ” excepting the long-billed curlew; conspicuous by its size ard 
red color among the waders that throng the shores and muddy or sandy bars of bays and 
estuaries during the migration. Known to breed chiefly in the upper Mississippi and Eastern 
Missouri regions, in Iowa, Minnesota, and Dakota, to the Saskatchewan; does not appear to 
go far along the Atlantic coast northward. Nests anywhere on the prairie, not necessarily 
near water ; eggs 3-4, about 2.28 X 1.60, light olive-drab, numerously but not very boldly 
spotted with various umber-brown shades, and the usual stone-gray shell-spots. 
L. hemas'tica. (Gr. aivacrixds, haimastikos, of bloody-red color.) HupsontAN Gopwir- 
