96 SHORE BIRDS. 



tail; legs, very short; scales of tarsus, continuous in front, 

 hexagonal behind ; toes, four and unwebbed ; upper tail cov- 

 erts, white, fig. 111. 



a. Turnstones. Arenaria. 



Characters, as above. 



1. TUBNSTOKE, A. INTERPRES. 9.50; bill, 85; fore, 

 head, middle and lower back, wing band, upper tail coverts, 

 all of tail, and lower parts, white ; large patch on breast, ex- 

 tending along heck to sides of head, Y-shaped mark on rump, 

 and subterminal band on tail, black ; upper parts, varied with 

 black and reddish, fig. 111. Winter, less reddish above. 

 Young, wholly without rufous above ; white markings always 

 conspicuous in flight. Breeds in high northern latitudes of 

 both hemispheres ; migrates southward in Aug., Sep., and 

 Oct., when it is common on the Atlantic coast and on the bor- 

 ders of large bodies of water in the interior ; winters from the 

 Carolinas south through S. A. to the Straits of Magellan ; 

 comes north in April and May. Frequents sandy and stony 

 beaches, where it turns over small stones, seaweed, etc., in 

 search of food, whence its name. Occurs in flocks of from 



Fig. 111. 



G, F, a, 1. 1-5. 



three or four to 

 thirty or more. 

 Call note, a clear 

 melodious whis- 

 tle, consisting of 

 two or three 

 notes, also gives 

 a chuckling 

 sound. Flight, 

 moderately swift 

 and direct with 

 strong wing- 

 beats. Less com- 

 mon on the At- 

 1 anti c coast 

 north of the Car. 

 olinas in spring 

 than in autumn. 



