33© NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Catoptrophorus semipalmatus inomatus Brewster 



Western Willet 



Description. This western representative of the Willet is larger than the Atlantic coast bird, 

 wiih a longer and more slender bill, and less heavily marked on the under parts in summer plumage. 

 In winter plumage the dimensions are the only means of distinction. Wing 8-9 inches; tarsus 

 a.6-2.85; bill 2.25-2.75. 



The Western willet has never been definitely i-eoorded for New York, but may occur here, espe- 

 cially in the Great Lakes region. 



Pavoncella pugnax (Linnaeus) 



Ruff 



Tringa pugnax Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10. 1758. 1:145 

 Pavoncella pugnax A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. (260) 



favoncel'la, Lat. diminutive of pavo, peacock; pug'nax, Lat., pugnacious 



Description. Bill nearly straight, grooved nearly to tip, rather broad; 

 legs slender; tarsus li times middle toe: basal web between outer and 

 middle toes, inner toe free; tail rather long, distinctly barred. Male in 

 breeding plumage: Face without feathers, papillate; a long tuft of feathers 

 extending backward on each side of head, foreneck also furnished with a 

 broad ruff, the tufts and ruff being differently colored in nearly every 

 specimen; general plumage varied with ash browni, black, ocherous and 

 white. Winter plumage: Face feathered, tufts and ruff wanting; under 

 parts pale buff; upper parts grayish brown with light markings. Female: 

 Without ruff ; upper parts grayish brown and dusky, pale buff below, much 

 smaller than male. 



Length 1 2-1 2.5 inches; wing 7-7.5; tail 2.6-3; tarsus 1.75-2; middle 

 toe and claw 1.4; bill 1.5. 9 length 10 inches; wing 6; tarsus 1.4; bill 1.15. 



This palearctic species is accidental in eastern America, there being 

 24 or more records [see Dean, Auk, 22: 410; Palmer, Auk, 23: 98; Hardy, 

 Auk, 25: 82]. Two specimens from Long Island are in the G. N. Lawrence 

 Collection, American Museum of Natural History, a male taken in October 

 185 1 [Lawrence, Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y. Ann. 5: 220] and a female taken 

 May 15, 1868 [Chapman, Birds of Vicinity of N. Y. Ed. 2. p. 35]. Baird's 

 statement that the Ruff has been "so frequently killed on Long Island,'' 

 evidently refers to Lawrence's specimen, as I can find no evidence of any 

 other records for New York. 



