srOLOPACID.K - TIIK SMIM': FAMILY — MXfOSA. 



253 



ill M.'xy, liiit II I'i'w an- srcn in.lmii'. Soinc iiriivi' Lite in Au;,'iisf, Imt nmst of tliciii iti 

 Si'|ttciiilii'r. A I U'l' October tin- V liccdiiif (•(iiis|ii('U"U.s l»y their li^l't eulor. Ip to ii 

 -iKirt time Iwlori' tlieir <le|iiirtiir'' tliey eoiitiiuietl in e(iiii|iaet llciiks, Imt iii .Mii\ tliey 

 liicanie iiion' dispersed, iiiid were seen in paiis cliasiuj,' eaeli otiier over the sand. 



Specimens of this hird were taken in jternnidii liy Major Wedderliuru from the 

 nil of Septendier to the 7th of Novendier. Aci'ordin'^ to Mr. Ilnrdis. it is not known 

 t(i have oecnrred there later tlian tlie lllth of Novendier. Several indiviilnals cd' this 

 spcries were uhtaiiied liy .Mr. .1. \. .Mien at Ipswich, .Mass., in .Inne, l.StJS; they wert^ 

 ill immature pluniii>,'e, and were mere stra>,'^;lin);, unmated birds. 



(»n till! Pacific coast the Sanderlinj; was not observed by Dr. ('nuper aloii;,' the 

 sipiithern jtart of the coast of California, Imt from San Kranci.sco north it was fonnd 

 numerous in winter; mid thim^di a few reiiiuin throii^dioiit tiie summer, none are 

 supposed to breed there. Its food on the I'acilic coast, and indeed wherever tlie coii- 

 tiiits of its stomach hiive been observed, appears to be slender sea-worms, minute 

 sliiUlisli, Crustacea, and Hue Ki'avel. {''arther north — as .Mr. I>all states — it was 

 piiiiiired it Sitka by ISisidioff, is very common at Nnlato, and on the Viikoii to the 

 M'a, where it arrives "arly, from .May loth to the l."itli. and is one of the last birds 

 to h'avo in the fall, havin;,' been seen by him in October on the ed^re of the ice. Ken- 

 nicott found them in the interior, alonj,' the beach at Lake Winnipej,' in .lime, where 

 tlicy were iu small Hocks and numerous. Mr. Macl-'arlane discovered a nest id' this 

 species — the only one at that time known to naturalists — on the Harren (irounds, 

 .lime lil), l.S(J.'t. The female was seciireil, and the nest found to contain four e^^^'s 

 which wore (piite fresh. The nest is said to have been composed cd' hay and decayed 

 leaves. It was obtained not far from the ,\rctie coast, a little east id' Anderson 

 iiivcr. The two e,i,';,'s in the Smithsonian Collection (No. IKtS,')) measure, one 1.14 

 inches in length by .•».■» in breadth; the other, l.t.'l by .J)!). Their ground-color is a 

 brownish olive, marked with faint spots and small blotches of bistre. These mark- 

 iiiLfs are very t,'eiierally dilfiised. but are a little more numerous about the larger end. 

 fiiey art! of an oblong pyriform shape. 



Gkm's LIMOSA, ISimsson. 

 Limosa, Bkissun, Orn. il^W (xyy, Si-olnjui.r liniiisn, li., = .S'. niiiHVjilmhi, L.), 



Ch.vr. Bill li'iijitlicni'il, (■.xcccdiii^; the tarsus, slcmlcr, iiiul curving gently ujiwards, grooved to 

 WM tilt' tiji, tlif tip not attenuated. Tiii>us with tnuisvcrsc sciitcllie licl'oiv and licliiiid, rcticulatetl 

 iatciJilly. A short Imsal iiu'iiiliriiiii' lictwccii the middle and cmtcr toes. Tail .short, even. 



liill nnuli longer than head, ncarlv iMpiiilling tni-si and toes together, curving gently upwards 

 I'liiiii the base, where it is elevated and eoiii|iresse(l, depressed, however, at the end. The grooves 

 on sides of hill and beneiilli extend iiearlv to the lip ; the tip of llie upper luaiidilde is thiekeiied, 

 and extends a little beyond the lower. The gape is slij^lit, not extending lieyoiid the Imse of the 

 ciihiieii ; the fi-athers on the side of the hill reneli imwiiid to about the same point, tlios.' on the 

 iliiii ft little farther. Tarsus more than one and one half times the toes, twice the bare jiart of the 

 tiliia ; hind toe rather lengthened ; outer toe webbed as fur as end of lirst joint, inner toe with only 

 a short ha.sal weh. Tail short, even, two-tifths the wings. 



In some resports, the liill of this genus resembles that of Mii(rnrli(nn)>hita, the chief apparent 

 dill'erence being the upwanl curve of the one and its straighlness iu the other. 



A. Wings without any well-detined white patch, 

 a. Tail distinctly barred. 

 1. Ij. fedoa. Prevailing eolor oeliraceous, the head and neck streaked, the remaining upper 



^Miim 



