246 NEW-YORK FAUNA — BIRDS. 



GENUS TOTANUS. Bechstein. 



Bill straight, longer than the head, subcylindrical, flexible at base. Upper mandible chan- 

 nelled through half its length, slightly exceeding the lower in length. Nostrils in the 

 furrow, basal, linear, pervious. Legs long and slender : tibia bare for half its length. 

 Feet four-toed ; the anterior or the outer only connected at base by a membrane : hind toe 

 small, touching at the tip. 



Obs. This genus has been subdivided by ornithologists into groups, which have been 

 elevated by European writers into the rank of genera. The first species is arranged under 

 the genus Actitis of Boie. 



THE SPOTTED SAND^LARK. 



TOTANUS MACULARIUS. 

 i PLATE XCI. FIG. 206. „••'"• 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Tringa mftcularia. Linnaeus, Syst. p. 249. Pennant, Arct. Zoology, Vol. 2, p. 473. 

 T. id. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol. 7, p. 60, pi. 59,- fig. 1. 

 Totanus id. Ord's Reprint, p. 64. 



Tringa id. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 325. Nuttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 2, p. 162. 

 T. (Actitis) id. Bonaparte, Geog. and Comp. List, p. 51. Audubon, Birds of Am. Vol. 5, p. 303, pi. 342. 

 Giraud, Birds of Long island, p. 257. 



Characteristics. Glossy olive brown, waved with blackish. Rump and tail similar ; spotted 



beneath. Three outer tail-feathers white, barred with black. Quills 



dark olive brown, with a white spot on most of the inner webs. Length 

 8-0. 



Description. Bill straight, about as long as the tarsus, slightly arched at the tip, - 9 long. 

 Tail rounded ; the middle feathers longest. Tibia bare for half its length. The web between 

 the outer and middle toe largest. 



Color. Bill greenish olive above ; yellowish beneath. Crown with obscure dusky stripes. 

 Lores dusky. Stripe over the eye and the eyelids whitish. Ear-feathers dusky ;- axillary 

 feathers pure white. Quills slightly tipped with white ; secondaries tipped with white, and 

 forming a broad band over the wings. Legs greenish yellow. Middle tail-feathers glossy 

 olive, obsoletely barred. Chin, throat and all beneath white, thickly spotted or almost striated 

 with brown on the neck. Abdomen, vent and sides with distant round dark spots. 



Length, 7-9-8-3. 



