GREAT KNOT. 125 



Distribution and forms. Throughout the Arctic Regions of the northern hemi- 

 sphere ranging southward in winter almost into the Antarctic Regions. Three 

 subspecies have been differentiated, as follows : Calidris canutus canutus (Linne") 

 from the European Region ; Calidris canutus rufus (Wilson) from the American 

 Region ; and Calidris canutus rogersi (Ma thews) from the Eastern Asiatic Region, 

 the last named visiting Australia in winter. In summer-plumage the first named 

 is darkest, the second palest, the last somewhat intermediate, but has a white 

 abdomen ; in winter-plumage the American birds are paler than the European 

 and similar to the Eastern Asiatic birds. In series the races are very marked. 



Genus ANTELIOTRINGA. 



Anteliotringa Mathews, Birds Austr., Vol. III., pt. 3, p. 274, Aug. 18th, 1913. Type (by 

 original designation) : Totanus tenuirostris Horsfield. 



Medium, stoutly-built Waders with long straight bills, long wings, short tails 

 and short stout legs, and strong feet. 



The bill is long, straight, and fairly stout ; it is however proportionately more 

 slender than that of Calidris = Canutus, with which genus it has been confused ; 

 the nostrils are very long, and the tip is less expanded than in Calidris = Canutus ; 

 the culmen is longer than the metatarsus. 



The wings are long and narrow with the first primary longest. The tail is short 

 and square, somewhat emarginate, about one-third the length of the wing. The 

 metatarsus is stout and short, noticeably shorter than the culmen, and about half 

 as long again as the toes. The middle and hind -toe are short and strong. 



86. Anteliotringa tenuirostris. GREAT KNOT. 



Gould, Vol. VI., pi. 33 (pt. xxxiv.), Dec. 1st, 1848. Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 3, pi. 164, Aug. 

 18th, 1913. 



Totanus tenuirostris Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. (Lond. ), Vol. XIII., pt. i., p. 192, 1821 : Java. 

 Schozniclus magnus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1848, p. 39, Nov. 14th : Australia. 

 Tringa crassirostris Temminck et Schlegel, Fauna Japonica (Siebold), pi. 64, 1849 : Japan. 



DISTRIBUTION. Winter visitor to Australia, breeding in the northern hemisphere. 



Adult male in summer-plumage. Upper-surface black, white, and chestnut ; 

 head and hind-neck black, streaked with white or grey ; back and scapulars black, 

 fringed with white and twin spots of chestnut on the latter ; wings dark grey or pale 

 brown with lighter edges to most of the coverts, the major coverts more distinctly 

 margined with white ; bastard -wing and primary -co verts blackish, more or less 

 tipped with white ; primary -quills also blackish on the outer webs and at the tips, 

 pale brown on the inner webs and the shafts white ; secondaries ash-brown, fringed 

 with white, the long innermost feathers dark brown with hoary edges ; lower back 

 pale brown with white fringes to the feathers ; upper tail-coverts white with dark 

 lanceolate shaft-lines or irregular dark spots ; tail ash-grey, somewhat darker on 

 the middle feathers ; sides of face, throat, and under-surface white with streaks 

 of brown on the fore-head and sides of face, and oval spots of dark brown on the 

 fore-neck, breast, and sides of body much more sparsely on the latter ; a few dark 

 streaks on the under tail-coverts and some elongated brown marks on the flanks ', 

 axillaries white, irregularly marked with pale brown longitudinally ; under wing- 

 coverts white ; iris brown ; feet olive-brown ; bill black, base of lower mandible 

 brown. Total length 292 mm. ; culmen 40, wing 186, tail 70, tarsus 34. 



Adult female in summer-plumage. Differs only in having less rufous on the 

 back. 



Adult in winter-plumage. Differs chiefly in being greyer above with no black 



