266 



PR^COCIAL aRALLATOEES — LIMICOL^. 



and young are found fully fledged about the middle of June. It breeds in large soci- 

 eties, in danijj jjlaces covered with a thin herbage, where there are tussocks, or small 

 dry places ; and also in scattered pairs in the fields, and in small marshes covered 

 with grass or bushes. In a dry spot the bird makes a depression about three inches 

 deep, lining it neatly and carefully with dry grasses, and deijositing four eggs, on which 

 both male and female sit. If an intruder approaches this colony, the birds meet him 

 when at some distance from it, uttering loud cries ; and when he is amongst the nests 

 all the birds fly overhead, uttering continual lamentations. Before they have eggs 

 they are very shy, rarely approaching within gunshot ; but when the young are 

 hatched they are very courageous, and will come within a few feet of the intruder. 



Mr. A. Benzou — also quoted by Mr. Dresser — met with this bird nesting in Den- 

 mark, on the west coast of Jutland. He obtained its eggs as early as April 12 and 

 as late as July 4. They were usually deposited early in May. 



Genus TOTANUS, Bechstein. 



Totanus, Becust. Oni. Tiischenb. DeutscUl. 1803, 282 (type, Scolopax totaims, Linn.). — Naum. 



Vtig. Deutschl. VIII. 53. — Gray, Gen. B. III. 572. 

 Glottis, KucH, Baier. Zool. 1816, 304 (type, Totanus glottis, Bechst., = ncbularius, GuNN. ). — 



NiLss. Om. Suec. II. 1817, 55. 

 Gambctta, Kaup, Sk. Ent. Eur. Tliiorw. 1820, 54 (type, Scolopax caKdris, Linn.). 



Char. Bill usually slender, and slightly upturned terminally, tlie lateral groove of the max- 

 illa extending about half way to the tip. No web between the middle and inner toes. Tarsus 

 about twice as long as the middle toe. 



Having carefully examined and compareil the five species usually referred to the so-called 

 genera Oambetta, Totanus, and Glottis, with their nearest allies, with the view of defining the sev- 

 eral generic groups usually recognized, we find that no two species agree exactly in the details of 



T. Ttidanoleucus. 



structure, and that, therefore, no characters exist M'hich warrant a subdivision of the genus Totanus 

 (with T. stagnatilis as type), beyond the recognition of Bhyacophilus and Erythroscelus. The only 

 species agreeing closely with the type of the genus Totanus is the American " Gambetta " flavipes 

 (Gmel.), which differs in having the bill thicker and not at all upturned terminally, and in the 

 nuich longer primaries, with shorter and broader tertials ; the latter in T. starjnatilis reaching 

 nearly to the end of the longest quills. " Gamhetta" ladanoleiica (GsiEL.) is like flavipes in regai-d 



