GRALL^E — SCOLOPACIDjE — TOTANUS. . 251 



THE WILLET. 



TOTANUS SEMIPALMATUS. 



PLATE XCVIII. FIG. 819. 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Scolapax semipalmata, Gmelin. Semipalmated Snipe. Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 2, p. 469. 



S. id. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol. 7, p. 27, pi. 56, fig. 3 (summer). T. crassirostris, Vieillot. 



T. ( Caloptrophorta ) semipalmatus. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. N.Y. Vol. 2, p. 323. 



T. id. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 2, p. 388, pi. 67 (summer). Nuttall, Man. Ornith. Vol. 2, p. 145. 



T. id. Audubon, B. of A. Vol. 5, p. 324, pi. 347. Giraud, Birds of Long island, p. 254. 



Characteristics. Bill straight, solid : fore toes united at the base by a membrane. Sum- 

 mer, brown, ash and rufous ; beneath whitish, spotted with brown. 

 Winter, ashen ; beneath while. Length, 15*0. 



Description. Bill compressed, tapering, 2' 2 long, and equal with the tarsus. Upper 

 mandible curved towards the tip, and bent over the lower one. Nasal furrow deep, and half 

 the length of the bill : nostrils pervious, near the base. Tibia naked half its length nearly ; 

 the web between the toes rather largest between the outer and middle toes. Tail moderate, 

 rounded ; the two central feathers slightly longest. 



Color. Summer: Bill and feet bluish. Head blackish brown, varied with yellowish or 

 greyish white. Back varied with greenish black, rufous and greyish. Neck grey, striate 

 with brown. Middle tail-feathers white at base, then brown, with five or six dusky angular 

 bars ; outer ones whiter, sprinkled with brown. Flanks with a tinge of rufous, and waved 

 with brown bars, pointed in the middle. Winter, the spots above not as distinct, and the 

 brown waved bars beneath wanting. 



Length, 14-0-15-5. 



The Willet, Semipalmated Snipe, or Stone Curlew, reaches this State about the beginning 

 of May, and breeds from Louisiana to Massachusetts. The eggs are olive, blotched with 

 reddish brown, particularly towards the larger end. Many remain along the shores of this 

 State to breed, and loiter with us until November. Its food consists of small shellfish, aquatic 

 insects and their larvae. Its flesh is much esteemed by epicures. Ranges through the inte- 

 rior, and has been observed on the Columbia river, the plains of Missouri, and (according to 

 Dr. Kirtland) in Ohio. Its latitudinal range along the coast is from the 23d to the 56th pa- 

 rallel. Resident in the Southern States in winter. Has been found accidentally in Europe. 



32* 



