GRALUE — SCOLOPACIL^E — HEMIPALMA. 235 



GENUS HEMIPALMA. Bonaparte. 



Bill much longer than the head, and partly arched, dilated and studded with numerous 

 tubercles at the tip. Tarsus very long, and the three anterior toes connected by a mem- 

 brane as far as the first joint. 



Obs. This small group, with the following, forms a passage from Ntjmenius to the large 

 genus Tringa. ' ;> 



THE LONG-LEGGED SANDPIPER. 



Hemipalma himantopus. 



plate lxxxvi. *p"iu. 1s6. 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Tringa (Hemipalma) himantopns. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 316. 



T. id. Id. American Ornithology, Vol. 4, p. 89, pi. 25, fig. 3. 



T. douglasii. Richardson, Northern Zoology, Vol. 2, p. 379, pi. 66. 



T. himantopus. Id. ib. Vol. 2, p. 380. 



T. id. et douglassii. Nuttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 2, pp. 139, 141. 



T. id. Audobon, Birds of Am. Vol. 5, p. 271, pi. 334. GlRAUD, Birds of Long island, p. 232. 



• 



Characteristics. Tarsus and bill subequal. Rump white, barred with dusky. Above- 

 brownish black, edged with white ; beneath reddish barred with dusky. 

 Length, 8 '5-. 



Description. Bill very long, slender, slightly arched: nasal groove extending nearly to 

 the tip. Nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Tibia bare for an inch : tarsus long, slender, 

 compressed; hind toe very small. Tail nearly even; the two middle feathers slightly 

 longest. 



Color. Above dusky ; the feathers edged with reddish white : a whitish line over the eye. 

 Ear-feathers reddish. Lores dusky. Quills brownish black ; the shaft of the outer white. 

 Rump and tail-feathers white, barred with blackish. Tail greyish ash ; the feathers edged 

 with dusky. Beneath, on the sides of the breast and belly, reddish barred with black. Bill, 

 black. Feet yellowish green. Autumn and winter, the plumage more greyish ; the fore 

 part of the neck whitish, streaked with grey : lores grey. Beneath soiled grey. 



The discovery of this species is due to Messrs. Bonaparte and Cooper, and it is still 

 exceedingly rare. Its history is yet incomplete. It is known to breed in high northern 

 latitudes. In the spring, it is very abundant in Texas. In this State, a single specimen has 

 been obtained in May ; others have been procured here in July, August and September, 

 probably then on their way south. Their vernal migration is presumed to be rapid. Their 

 habits allied to those of the Sandpipers. 



30* 



