THE HUDSONIAN GOD WIT. 



No. 240. 



HUDSONIAN GODWIT. 



A. O. U. No. 251. Limosa ha_-mastica (Linn.). 



Synonym. RING-TAILED MARUN. 



Description. Adult in summer : Above black or blackish, the head and neck 

 streaked, and the back, scapulars, etc., irregularly barred with ochraceous-buff ; 

 the greater coverts chiefly brownish gray; the edge of wing, primary-coverts and 

 primaries blackish, the shafts of the latter white, and the inner quills white at base ; 

 upper tail-coverts white, the longer feathers black-barred and black-tipped; tail 

 black, narrowly white-tipped and extensively white at base; neck in front and on 

 sides pale chestnut-rufous, streaked with dusky; remaining under parts deeper 

 chestnut-rufous, barred with dusky, finely on breast and belly, more boldly on 

 flanks and lower tail-coverts ; the axillars sooty black ; the lining of wing dusky, 

 varied with white ; the chin and superciliary line buffy white ; bill, slightly upturned, 

 flesh color at base, blackening toward tip; feet and legs black. Winter plumage: 

 "Back, etc., plain dull, brownish gray; head, neck, and lower parts dull whitish, 

 or pale grayish buffy, shaded with brownish gray anteriorly." (Ridgw.). Imma- 

 ture : Similar to adult in winter, but the feathers of back, etc., margined sub- 

 terminally with dusky, and terminally with ochraceous-buff ; belly whitish. Length 

 14.00-16.50 (355.6-419.1) ; wing 8.40 (213.4) ; tail 2.98 (75.7) ; bill 3.10 (78.7) ; 

 tarsus 2.30 (58.4). 



Recognition Marks. Little Hawk size. Smaller than preceding species; 

 chestnut-rufous coloration of under parts in summer adult; white of upper tail- 

 coverts and black tail distinctive. 



Nesting. Does not breed in Ohio. Nest, on the ground. Eggs, 3 or 4, 

 clear light brown or deep olive, spotted with darker brown. Av. size, 2.18 x 1.40 

 (55-4 x 35.6). 



General Range. Eastern North America and the whole of Middle and South 

 America. Breeds only in the high north. 



Range in Ohio. Rare migrant. 



OUR knowledge of this rare wader still rests entirely upon the following 

 words of Wheaton : "Rare spring and fall migrant. Dr. Kirtland notes its 

 capture in the vicinity of Cincinnati, and Mr. Winslow mentions its occurrence 

 near Cleveland. I met with a flock of eight birds in the spring of 1858, 

 wading in a shallow pond in an old brick yard within the city limits, but 

 was not so fortunate as to secure specimens. In the spring of 1861, a fine 

 specimen was taken below the State dam, near the city by a sportsman and 

 taxidermist, which was preserved until recently." 



Professor Butler knows of no recent instance of the bird's capture in 

 Indiana, and Ridgway's estimate, "abundant migrant," would probably no 

 longer hold good in Illinois. 



