240 ContrihitioTts to the OrnitJwlogy of India, Sj'c. 



881 bis,— TringSi crassirostris, Temm. et ScMeg., 

 Faun. Jap., p. 107, pi. XIV. — Sclioenicolus magnus, 

 Gould, P. Z. S. 1848, p. 39. — Totanus tenuirostris^ 

 Swinhoe. nee Horsf. Lin Trans., Vol. XIII., p. 

 192. — T. magna, Bonap. 



Whether professor Sehleg-el be correct or not in asserting tliat 

 tenuirostris, Horsf, loc. cit. really refers to Totanus stagnatilis, this 

 present species must assuredly stand under SchlegeFs name of 

 crassirostris. 



How Mr. Gray could possibly assign to crassirostris the coars- 

 est and thickest billed of Tringa's, Horsfield^s name of tenuiros- 

 tris, which he describes as " rostro temii" and in regard to which 

 he remarks that " the beak is more slender than in the Euro- 

 pean species of this genus" (Totanus) is " one of those things 

 that no fellah can understand •" but Mr. Gray rarely^ if ever, 

 did any thing without very good reasons. I much wish the 

 matter could be cleared up. The occurrence of this fine species 

 in Sindh was to me most unexpected. I found it common (but 

 very wary) in the Kurrachee Harbour, and saw a small party of 

 it again near G wader; common as it was at Kurrachee, its 

 extreme shyness prevented my procuring more than seven speci- 

 mens, all these killed in the month of February, are in winter 

 plumage, none have the slightest rufous tint on the upper sur- 

 face, and only one or two large black spots on the breast betray 

 any indication of the summer plumage. 



I measured five of these in the flesh, and the following are 

 the dimensions, I noting that there seems no appreciable constant 

 difference in the sizes of the sexes. 



Length, ll"35tol2; expanse, 23*5 to 34; tail from vent, 

 3*7 to 2-8; wing, 7'1 to 7"3; bill, at front, 1-6 to 1-85; tarsus, 

 1*4 to 1'55 ; wings when closed reach from 0'3 to 0*4 beyond 

 end of tail. 



Bill, black, sometimes paler at the base of lower mandible ; 

 legs and feet dusky, greenish dusky, yellowish plumbeous, or 

 pale plumbeous ; according, I suppose, to age or seasonal progress. 



Plumage. — In the winter plumage the upper surface reminds 

 one not a little of that of Totanus stagnatilis. The whole lower 

 parts are white, but the base of the neck in front, and the sides 

 are marked with numerous small brown strise, and the upper 

 breast, besides more or less of these striations, is mottled with 

 larger pale brown spots, here and there interspersed with conspi- 

 cuous heart-shaped blackish brown spots, which are the first 

 traces of the coming summer plumage. 



Lores, top, back, and sides of the head and neck very pale 



