32 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



FAMILY SCOLOPACIIXSJ. THE SNIPE FAMILY. 



The characters of the family Scolopacidee having been given in 

 sufficient detail on p. 18, in the analysis of the families of Limi- 

 colee, it is unnecessary to repeat them here. The Scolopacidse 

 are among the most widely dispersed of birds, a large propor- 

 tion of the genera being nearly cosmopolitan. They embrace a 

 very great variety of forms, from the diminutive " Peeps" 

 (Actodromas and Ereunetes), smaller than a Sparrow, to the 

 large Curlews, of Ibis-like stature and appearance. The bill 

 may be either straight, bent upward, as in the Avocets (e. g. 

 Limosa and Terekia), or strongly decurved like a sickle; nar- 

 rowed at the end, or widely expanded into a paddle-shaped 

 form (Eurynorhynchus) . The legs may be short and stout (as 

 in Arquatella, Calidris, etc.), or of almost stilt-like length (as in 

 Micropalama, Totanus, etc.). Between these wide extremes of 

 form, however, there are others possessing characters interme- 

 diate in almost every conceivable degree so much so as to 

 render it extremely difficult to tabulate the characters of the 

 numerous genera. The following is an attempt at a diagnostic 

 table of the North American genera,.* 



A. Bill longer than the tarsus and middle toe, straight. 



B. Bill shorter than the tarsus and middle toe, straight or slightly curved (either 

 up or down); wing lengthened, pointed. 



C. Bill widely expanded laterally at the end. 



D. Bill much longer than tarsus, decidedly decurved or arched. 



A. (ScolopacincB.) 



a. Tibiae completely feathered. 



1. Scolopax. Outer Quill longest, broad, like the others. 



2. Philohela. Outer quill shorter than the sixth, the three outer primaries 

 abruptly much narrower than the rest. 



b. Tibiae partly naked. 



3. Gallinago. Toes all cleft to the base. 



4. Macrorhamphns. A well-developed web between anterior toes, at base. 



B. (Tringince.) 



a. Feathers of the forehead not reaching to the nostril; anterior 'toes all 

 webbed at the base. 



* There are but two additional genera of this family in South America; viz., Phegornis 

 Gray (type Leptopus mitchelli Fraser), and Shynchcea. 



