NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA. 179 



minor of Gundlach is founded upon shortness of bill as a character ; as is also 

 (fide Gen. Rep.) the Tringa brevirostris of Spix. By the same authority the 

 Heteropoda mauri of Bonaparte is considered as merely a larger race of the 

 present species. 



TRINGA Linnaeus. 



Tringa, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 1735, Tyups T. canwtus, L. (fide G. R. Gray.) 

 Calidris, Cuvier, Regne An. 1817, Typus T. canutus, L. (Nee. Guv. 1800, cujus 



typus T. arenaria, i. fide G. R. Gray.') 

 Canutus, Brehm, 1830, (fide G. R. Gray.) 



Char. Bill about as long as, or rather longer than, the head, straight, 

 stout, somewhat compressed, widening uniformly from the middle to the 

 slightly expanded, rather hard tip ; the culmen depressed on the terminal half 

 to the expansion at tip, and obsoletely furrowed. Both mandibles deeply 

 grooved to the tip. Nostrils very large 'and placed far forward in the upper 

 groove. Feathers extending on the lower mandible much further than on the 

 upper, and nearly as far as those between the rami. Wings long, pointed, first 

 primary decidedly longest. Secondaries moderately incised. Tertials short, 

 broad, and comparatively stiff. Tail rather short, nearly even, the central 

 feathers projecting but little if any. Legs short and very stout; tarsus usually 

 shorter than the bill; longer than the middle toe. Tibial feathers reaching 

 nearly to joint; tibiae bare for nearly two-thirds the tarsus. Toes very short 

 and stout, free at base, widely margined ; outer lateral longer than inner. 

 Hind toe present, well developed. Claws short, stout, blunt, much curved, 

 dilated on the inner edge. .Size large, general form stout. 



In the above diagnosis I have drawn the characters of the genus so as to 

 include only the type (canutus) upon which it was founded. In this acceptation 

 it may be considered as typical of the section, embodying as it does the most 

 characteristic features of the group, and presenting their usual variations; very 

 great in plumage and in the length of the bill, and slight in the proportions of 

 the legs and shape of the wings and tail. The essential characters lie in the 

 stout, moderately long, straight bill, which usually considerably exceeds the 

 tarsus, which latter is much longer than the very short stout toes ; the long 

 tibial feathers, long pointed wings, and short nearly even tail. The peculiar 

 proportions of bill and legs is shared by no other Sandpiper, so far as my 

 knowledge extends, except Calidris, which is evidently closely allied. This 

 genus, however, is at once distinguished by the marked character of the 

 absence of the hind toe. The affinities of Ereunetes have already been adverted 

 to. Arquatella presents the next closest relationship, but is well characterized 

 by the extremely abbreviated tarsus, rounded tail, and some other features. 



Tringa is among the oldest of genera, having been established by Linnaeus in 

 1735. As usual with old Linnaean genera, it has oeen used with great latitude, 

 all the species which now compose the section having been included in it. It 

 seems, however, to represent a form from which all others are sufficiently dif- 

 ferent/o require full generic rank. Its synonyms are (fide G. R. Gray) Calidris 

 of Cuvier, 1800, (not of 1817, of which the type is T. arenaria, L.,) and Canutus 

 of Brehm, 1830. 



North America possesses but a single representative of the genus as restricted. 

 The Tringa Cooperi of Baird, which has been referred to it, seems to fall more 

 naturally under Actodromas. Its relationships will be found fully discussed 

 under that head. 



TRINGA CAXUTUS Linnaeus. Red-breasted Sandpiper. 



Tringa canutus, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. i. 1766, 251. Latham, Ind. Orn. 1790, ii. 

 738. Pennant, Arct. Zool. 1785, ii. 473. Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 1788. Pal- 

 las, Zoog. Rosso-As. 1811, ii. 197. Temminck, Man. d'Orn, 1820, ii. 627 



1861.] 



