THE SANDPIPERS AND 

 RELATED SPECIES 



[ORDER: Charadriiformes. SUBORDER: Limicolce. FAMILY: Charadriidce. 



SUBFAMILY : Tringince] 



PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[W. FARREN. F. C. R. JOURDAEST. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON] 



DUNLIN [Pdidna alpina (Linnaeus) ; Tringa alpina Linnseus. Dtmling, sea- 

 lark, sanderling, sea-snipe, ox-bird, purre, stint, sea-mouse ; plover-page 

 (Shetlands). French, becasseau ; German, Alpen-Strandlaufer ; Italian, 

 piovanello panda nera]. 



i. Description. The dunlin may readily be distinguished by the moderately 

 long, slender, cylindrical beak, the dark brown upper tail-coverts, the white basal por- 

 tion of the secondaries, and the black legs and feet. The sexes are alike, and there is 

 a conspicuous seasonal change of coloration. (PL 123.) Length 7 '5 in. [190*5 mm.]. 

 The adult, in nuptial dress, has the feathers of the crown, hind-neck, and mantle 

 black, broadly fringed with light chestnut : on the crown and hind-neck the black 

 is reduced to narrow striations ; on the interscapulars and scapulars the central 

 part of the feather is black, the margin chestnut, save on the hindmost scapulars, 

 where the black is reduced to marginal bands and bars. The rump is ash-brown, 

 the upper tail-coverts somewhat darker, and with chestnut margins ; the central 

 pair of tail feathers are dark brown, the remainder ash-grey with white shafts. 

 The wings do not participate in the seasonal change of plumage, the coverts being 

 ash-grey, and those of the major series are tipped with white. The remiges are 

 brownish black, the primaries having white shafts, and a narrow line of white along 

 the free edge of the innermost, while the secondaries are traversed by a white bar. 

 The throat is white, the fore-neck white heavily striated with black, while the breast 

 and flanks are black. The abdomen and under tail-coverts are white. The black 

 feathers at first have white free edges, but these are soon lost by abrasion, and 

 similarly the crown and mantle become much blacker as the season advances 



VOL. III. 3 I 



