Mr. E. A. S. Elliot on the Godwits. 573 



the Snipes, whose bill is slightl}^ flattened at the tip ; but the 

 bill is not so highly organized as in the latter family. 



It is interesting to note how closely the Godwits approach 

 the Snipes in external characteristics, as shown by the bill 

 of the Red-breasted Snipe {Macrorhamphus grisem) , which in 

 its sensitive tip is like the Snipe, though its stouter basal 

 portion shows its affinity to the Godwits ; and again in its 

 seasonal change of plumage the Red-breasted Snipe ap- 

 proaches the Godwits rather than the Snipes. 



The Hudsonian Godwit seems to be the prototype of the 

 Black-tailed Godwit of the Old World. This species {L. hce- 

 mastica) is met with generally on migration throughout the 

 United States except west of the Rocky Mountains, and pre- 

 sents some interesting features. In the first place it is a 

 dumpier bird (if I may use the expression) than the charac- 

 teristic long-shanked Black-tailed Godwit of the Old World, 

 being more like the Bar-tailed in this respect. The tail 

 characteristics are as in the Black-tailed Godwit, but the 

 feathers are more constantly tipped with white, and the 

 under tail-coverts are boldly barred black and white. The 

 black axillaries render this species unmistakable at any 

 season. In one other respect it resembles the Bar-tailed 

 Godwit : it has a distinct seasonal change of plumage, the 

 sombre grey plumage of winter giving way to one of a bright 

 chestnut on the whole of the underparts except the chin as 

 summer advances. This change in both species is wrought 

 not by a complete moult (only a few new feathers are pro- 

 duced) but by the growth of the old feather, which becomes 

 deeply pigmented, whilst the white tips wear off, leaving a 

 fine black line at the tip of each feather. The same change 

 is eflFected in the dorsal region, the grey edging becoming 

 worn off as the chestnut-scalloped black feathers continue to 

 grow. 



The female is larger than the male, and in summer is of a 

 much lighter red. It is more gregarious in its habits than 

 the Black-tailed, and in its winter-quarters is often met with 

 in large flocks, associating with the Marbled Godwit; it 

 breeds abundantly in the "barren lands" of the Arctic regions. 



