250 AYES: LIMICOI^E. XXXVIII. 



785. 2E. wilsonia (Ord). WILSON'S PLOVER. Brownish gray; 

 forehead and lower parts white, a black band on breast and one on 

 front of crown ; 9 duller and rusty. L. 7|. W. 4. B. . Trop- 

 ical shores, N. to N. Y. (To Alex. Wilson.) 



bb. Bill shorter than middle toe without claw. 

 c. All toes distinctly webbed at base. 



786. 2E. semipalmata Bonaparte. RING -NECK PLOVER. 

 Dark grayish brown; black bands broad. L. 7. W. 5. B. -J. 

 N. Am. 



cc. Inner toe not webbed at base. 



787. JE. meloda (Ord). PIPING PLOVER. Very pale ashy 

 brown, clear white below; dark bands narrow and faint; toes 

 slightly webbed. L. 6|. W. 4f. B. J. E. N. Am., along the 

 coast ; represented in Miss. Valley by var. circumcincta Eidgway, 

 with the black patches on sides of breast coalescent. 



FAMILY CXLVII. APHBIZID^. (THE SURF-BIRDS.) 



Toes 4, not webbed, the hinder short, well-developed; tarsus 

 scutellate in front ; legs rather long ; wings long and pointed ; tail 

 short ; bill rather short. Two genera, each with a species, found 

 on most northern shores. (d<pos, surf ; ao>, I live.) 

 a. Bill as long as tarsus, hard, sharp-pointed; tail rounded. AKENARIA, 402. 



402. ARENARIA Brisson. (Lat., relating to sand.) 



788. A. interpres (L.). TURNSTONE. Variegated; black, 

 white, and chestnut above, mostly white below ; young without red- 

 dish; feet orange; throat white. L. 8J. W. 6. T. 2J. B. $. 

 Northern regions, generally common. (Eu.} (Lat., a go-between.) 



FAMILY CXLVIII. H^MATOPODID^E. (THE 

 OYSTER-CATCHERS.) 



Toes 3, webbed at base ; tarsus reticulate ; legs stout, coarse and 

 rough ; wings long and pointed ; tail short. Bill hard, long, con- 

 stricted near base, much compressed, truncate at tip, nearly straight, 

 adapted for opening shells ; nasal groove short ; nostril linear. Size 

 large ; sexes similar. One genus, with 6 or 7 species ; shore-birds 

 found in most countries. 



403. H^BMATOPUS Linnaeus, (ai/ia, blood ; rrovs, foot.) 



789. H. palliatus Temminck. OYSTER-CATCHER. Back dark 

 slate ; head and neck black ; bill and legs red ; tail coverts white. 

 L. 18. W. 10. T. 4. B. 3. American coasts. (Lat., wearing 

 a cloak.) 



