152 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Numenius rostratua Gray, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Vol. XL, p. 194, March 1st, 1843, ex Latham 

 MS. for Watling plate, basis of Latham's Numenius arquatus var. = A T . cyanopus Vieillot. 

 Numenius rufescens Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1862, p. 286, April 1st, 1863 : Formosa. 



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



Adult female. General colour of the upper-parts dark grey and brown, some 

 of the feathers, particularly on the wings, margined with white ; the feathers of the 

 back and scapulars dark brown margined with paler brown ; rump, upper tail- 

 coverts and tail regularly barred with dark brown and grey, the latter tipped with 

 white ; lesser wing-coverts almost black with white or pale margins, medium and 

 greater coverts somewhat paler ; bastard-wing and primary -coverts black ; primary- 

 quills dark brown notched with white on the inner web, the first three uniform on 

 the outer web, the remainder mottled with light-coloured spots on the outer web 

 and tipped with white, the shafts straw coloured : secondaries brown notched on 

 both webs with white ; head and hind -neck brown, the feathers margined with grey ; 

 fore-head, lores, and sides of face minutely streaked with brown and white ; throat 

 almost pure white ; fore-neck and chest more coarsely streaked ; abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts paler and more inclining to white and the shaft-streaks narrower ; 

 some of the under tail-coverts narrowly barred with brown ; axillaries and under 

 wing-coverts barred with brown and white ; bill dark brown, tip black, base of 

 lower mandible flesh-white ; iris brown ; tarsi and feet leaden-blue. Total length 

 650 mm. ; culmen 187, wing 317, tail 122, tareus 03. 



Adult male. Similar to the adult female but smaller. 



Adult in summer-plumage. Has distinctly rufescent edges to the feathers. 



Immature. Like the adult but with pale rufous edges to the feathers of the 

 upper-surface, somewhat recalling the summer-plumage, but paler and easily recog- 

 nisable by the smaller measurements, especially of the bill. The under-surface with 

 the streaks more pronounced. 



Nestling in down. Does not appear to have been described. 



Nest and Eggs. Apparently undescribed. 



Breeds in southern parts of Eastern Siberia, as far west as Southern Baikal 

 and Upper Olekina (tributary of the Lena) and as far north as about 56-57 N. on 

 (Lena) Olekina. 



Distribution and forms. Eastern Siberia, migrating southwards to Australia in 

 winter. No subspecies are known. 



FAMILY KECURVIROSTRID^. 



This family consists of a group of Wading birds with long slender bills, long 

 necks, and very long legs. Seebohm included all the species in his genus Himantopus, 

 as he pointed out that the species were connected by various features. Thus the 

 the members of that genus, as commonly and here restricted, have straight bills, no 

 hind-toe, and small webs to their toes. Cladorhynchus has also a straight bill, but 

 the toes are fully webbed and no hind -toe. Recurvirostra has the bill upturned, the 

 toes fully webbed, and a hind-toe is present. In coloration, upon which Seebohm 

 based his affinities, a similar range is noticeable. 



The straight-billed birds are called Stilts, and those with upturned bills Avocets ; 

 they are very closely related, as some of the species of Avocet have straightish bills 

 when immature. 



There appears to be little recorded as regards the anatomical characters of this 

 family ; the peculiar slenderness of the lachrymals has been noted, as well as the 

 vomer with the extremity excavate instead of pointed. The muscle formula of 

 the leg is ABXY+ and there are no intrinsic muscles to the syrinx which is of 

 the tracheo-bronchial pattern . A comparison of the anatomy and osteology cf the 

 three Australian genera from nestling to adult would be very valuable. 



