Tie 



SCOLOPACID.K. 



BCOLOPACID.^ 



ID the British Islands (it is found in Orkney and Shetland, and boa 

 been known to breed in the Utter locality) the Whiiubivl occun moit 

 plentifully in May and autumn, the periods of its northward and south- 

 ward migration ; but they have been Men occasionally on our shores 

 in winter. 



Their food consists of insects, small crustaceans, and worms : they 

 breed in the north : the neat is exposed on wild heaths and moors, 

 and the number of eggs, which are dark olive-brown, blotched with 

 darker brown, near-ehaped, and strongly resembling those of the 

 Curlew, but smaller, is generally four : they are sought as delicacies. 



In the ' Portraits d'Oyaeaux' the following quatrain appears under 

 the figure of the Curlew, which was highly esteemed for the table :-- 



" De son erler le CoriU a \t nom, 



Duquel le bee ot tournl, et rottlW. 

 ! dnl pied long. II ctt ppmte' 



K grands banquet*, oomme oytrau de rcnom." 



Limota, Bill very long, more or lens curred upwards, soft and 

 flexible throughout its length, depressed, and flattened towards the 

 point; the two mandibles furrowed throughout their length, the 

 point flat, dilated, and obtuse. Nostrils lateral, longitudinally slit 

 in the furrow, pierced through and through. Feet long, slender ; a 

 great naked space above the knee ; three toes before and one behind ; 

 middle toe united to the external one by a membrane which extends 

 up to the first joint; the posterior toe articulated upon the tarsus. 

 Wings moderate ; first quill longest (Temm.) 



All known species of the Godwits undergo a double moult, which 

 changes nearly entirely the colour of the plumage. The females are 

 always larger than the males, and lay very large eggs in proportion to 

 their size ; and their periodical moult takes place later than that of 

 the males, indeed after they have assumed their new dress. (Temm.) 



L. melanura, the Godwit. Bill straight ; tail uniform black, with r. 

 base of pure white ; claw of the middle toe long and dentilated ; a 

 whits beauty-spot (miroir) on the wings. 



Head and Foot of Godwit (Limau mflanura). 



In their winter plumage they are Limota mtlanura of Leisler; 

 Seotopax Limota of Linnams ; Tolamu Limota of Bechstcin; LaBargu 

 on Barge Commune of Buffon ; Jadreka Snipe of Latham. 



The young before their first moult is Tulnnta rufui of Bechntein. 



In its nuptial plumage the bird is Scolopax Belgica, and Scolopar 

 jfyoctphala of Omclin ; Totanu* jKgoctphalu* of Bechstein ; La Grande 

 Barge Rouate of Buffon ; Red Oodwit of Latham ; and Dunkclfussiger 

 Waaaerlaufer of Meyer. 



Mr. Gould says that this bird inhabits the whole of the European 

 continent, and that examples are found in most collections from Africa 

 and India, With us they are most frequently seen in spring and 

 autumn. They breed mostly in high northern latitudes, but occasion- 

 ally in Knpland. In Ireland the species is but seldom seen. 



The food consists of insects and their larvjp, worms, 4c. The nest 

 is formed of dry gram and herbage, and the four eggs are light olive- 

 brown, blotched and spotted with darker brown. 



GodwiU were formerly considered most delicious eating (' The Devil 

 is an Asa,' iii. 3 ; Sir Tbomss Browne, and others) ; but though they 

 arc now sometimes fattened with bread and milk, like Huffs, they arc 

 not held in half the estimation that Ruffs are. 



Cladorhynckm, O. R. Gray. This genus, which closely approximates 

 llimantoj,*!, was first characterised by the Chevalier I!. 1 Julius, under 

 the name of Ltj^orhynckiu. Mr. Gould published a description and 

 part figure of the species here noticed, in his ' Synopsis of the Birds 

 of Australia,' as I/immtoptu palmaliu. LrpinrtiynrliHi had been pre- 

 occupied in ornithology ; and therefore, as Mr. Gould observes, Mr. G. 

 R. Gray's Dame must stand. 



C. pidoralii ; Ltptorkynchut prctoralu, Dubua. Body white ; breast 

 crossed by a broad band of chestnut, bordered anteriorly with black ; 

 wings and centre of the abdomen black; bill black; legs reddish- 



yellow. In a specimen presumed to be the female, the band on the 

 chest waa grayish-brown instead of chestnut, and there was no appear- 

 ance of the black mark on the centre of the abdomen ; and in another 

 the pectoral band was apparently disappearing, from which Mr. Gould 

 infers that this mark only exists in the breeding season. It is a native 

 of southern and western Australia and Kottncst Island. 





Cladorhynclitu pectoralis. 



Jfimantoput, Brisa. Bill long, slender, cylindrical, flattened at its 

 bass and compressed at the point ; both mandibles channelled to the 

 extent of half their length from the base. Nostrils lateral, linear. 

 Tarsi very long and slender. Toes three before, the external and 

 middle toe united by a membrane ; nails email and flat. Wings very 

 long, the first quill-feather the longest. (Gould.) 



11. mclanoptcrut, the II. rvfpet, Becbst ; Jiyptrltatci Ifimantoput of 

 Nauraann, and l/imantopvt lonyipa of Brehm. ; Charadritu Himanto- 

 put, Linn. It is L'Echasse and Echajise a Manteau Noir of the French ; 

 Cavaliere Grande Italiano and Cavaliere d'ltalia of the Italians; 

 Scbwarzflugelige Strandreuter of the Germans ; Long-Legged Plover, 

 Stilt, and Longshauks of the English; Cwttyn Hlrgoes of the A\YKh. 



Face, neck, and all the lower parts pure white, assuming a rosy tint 

 on the breast and belly ; occiput and nape black or blackish, with 

 white spots; back and wings black, glossed with green; tail :i-h- 

 colour ; bill black ; iris crimson ; feet vermilion. Length from the 

 point of the bill to the extremity of the tail about 14 inches, and to 

 the claws about 1 9 inches. 



The very old male boa the nape, and even sometimes the occiput, 

 quite white. 



The female is legs than the male ; the black of the mantle and 

 wings has no greenish reflexions ; and her general tint is browner. 



The feet of the young are orange ; their mantle and whips brown, 

 with whitish edges; feathers of the upjwr part of the head, occiput, 

 and nape blackish-ash with whitish borders. (Himantoput Mtxicanuj, 

 Brira.) (Temm.) 



Belon. in the ' Portraits d'Oysenux,' superscribes a by no means bad 

 figure with the following synonyms: "Grec. 'Iparr6-*ovs; Italien, 

 Merlo aquaiolo grande ; Franfois, Lon pourroit dire le Grand Cheva- 

 lier d'ltalie." Ikneath the cut he informs us that the Himantopu*, 

 like the Ifcrmatopiis, has only three toes, but that one is a river and 

 the other a sea-bird, and that the former is often seen in all the coun- 

 tries along the river which passes by Castel Durante in the duchy of 

 Urbino. It is there called, he says, Merlo Aquaiolo Grande, in con- 

 tradistinction to another bird which is simply called Merlo Aquaiolo 

 (mir Wnter-Ouzel, Cinclm !). There is no bird, says Belon, in con- 

 tinuation, which has such long legs with reference to the size of its 

 body ; for, having the body of u pigeon, its red legs are a cubit long. 

 The name Jfimantopw is taken from Pliny ; and, by an awkward 

 metaphor, implies that the legs are as slender and pliant as if cut out 

 of a thong of leather. 



Pennant says, " These birds ore extremely rare in these island*. 

 Sir Robert Sibbald records a brace that wore shot in Scotland ; another 

 was shot a few years ago at Stnnton-Harcourt Common near Oxford ; 

 and we have seen them often in the cabinets of the curious at Paris, 

 taken on the French coasts." 



Mr. Gould (' Birds of Europe') states that the genus Mimantopu*, 

 although widely distributed, contains, he believes, only two well 

 authenticated species, namely, //. mclanogatter and the North A merican 

 species. " This bird," says Mr. Gould, in continuation, " so singular 

 in its appearance from the extraordinary length and slenderness of 



