208 - PR^COCIAL GRALLATORES — LIMICOL^. 



Glottis natans, Koch, Baier. Zool. I. 1816, 305 (nee Otto, 1797). 



Glottis floHdanus, Bonap. Comp. List, 1838, 51. — Cass, in Baird's B. N. Am. 1858, 730. — Baird, 



Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, no. 538. 

 Totanus rjlottoidcs, ViG. P. Z. S. 1831, 173. 

 Glottis nimgiUa, Hodgs. in Gray Zool. Misc. II. 1831, 36. 

 Glottis Vigorsii, Gray. — G. Horsfiddi, Gi;ay. — G. Linnci, Malm. 

 Grecnshank, Yark. Brit. B. ed. 2, II. 618, tig. ; ed.3, II. 665, tig. ; et AuCT. 

 Cinereous Godwit, Penn. Brit. Zool. II. 1813, 50, id. 11. 



Hab. The PaliBarctic Region, south to Australia ; accidental in Eastern North America ! 

 (Florida, Audubon). 



Sp. Char, Adult in summer: Head and neck above, grayish white, widely streaked with 

 dusky ; remainder of head and neck, with entire lower parts, pure white ; the lores; cheeks, malar 

 region, auriculars, sides of neck and foreneck, finely streaked with dusky ; sides of the breast and 

 anterior part of the sides, coarsely and irregularly streaked with dusky, the markings assuming an 

 irregularly sagittate or V-shaped form on the sides. Eyelids, a distinct and rather broad supra- 

 loral stripe, chin, throat, abdomen, crissum, and flanks, inimacidate white ; axillars white, irregu- 

 larly marked toward ends with grayish ; lining of wing white, with irregular sagittate markings of 

 grayish dusky. Back and scapulars dusky blackish, the feathers edged with light ash-gray ; wing- 

 coverts nearly uniform brownish slate, the tertials similar, but edged with paler ; primaries uniform 

 dark slate ; entire rump and upper tail-coverts immaculate ])ure white, the longer feathers of the 

 latter, however, narrowly zigzagged with dusky. Tail white, narrowly and incompletely barred 

 with grayish dusky. Winter plummje : Similar, but nearly uniform grayish above, the feathers bor- 

 dered with gmyish white ; foreneck unstreaked. Youwj : '■ Above, light lirownish gray, the feathers 

 margined with paler, and with a sub-edging of du.sky, in the form of an irregular dusky line near 

 the edge and parallel with the border ; these markings changed on the tertials into short zigzag, 

 oblique bars along tlie edge ol' lioth webs. Crown, nape, and lores streaked as in the adult : fore- 

 neck, jugulum, and sides immaculate white. " Bill dusky green, black at end ; iris bro\vn ; feet 

 dull greenish gray" (AuDUBOx). 



Wing, 7.00-7.80 ; culmen, 2.15-2.ii0 ; tarsus, 2.25-i.65 ; middle toe, 1.1:2-1.30. 



The only known instance of the occurrence of this species in North America is 

 recorded by Mr. Audubon, by wliom three specimens? were taken, May 28, 1832, on 

 Sand Key, Florida, near Cape Sable. They were mistaken for Tell-tale Tattlers as 

 they walked abottt on the bars or in the shallow water, and upon examination were 

 presumed by Audubon to be the Common G-reenshank of Europe. They were all 

 males, and probably stragglers. In the "Pacific Eailroad Eeport," Vol. IX., owing 

 to their inferiority in size, these individuals are given as a distinct species ; but it is 

 not probable that this claim can be nuxintaiued, and we presume that the specimens 

 noted must have been examples of the common European bird, especially as this bird 

 is known to be a great wanderer, having been taken at Trebizond, in Matiritius, and 

 in various ])arts of Asia, Java, Sunda, the iloluecas, etc. Montagu, in his '' Ornitho- 

 logical Dictionary,'" mentions this species as occurring in North America, stating that 

 one had been seen in the State of New York. 



The Greenshank is said not to be anywhere found in large numbers. It is a sum- 

 mer visitant to the British Islands, and more frequent about the time of its spring 

 and fall migrations ; a few renuiining during the breeding-season, but the greater 

 portion going farther north. These birds are found in the London market, most 

 frequently about the last of April and in May. In Ireland they occur in autumn in 

 small parties or singly. Mr. Selby detected this species breeding in Sutherlandshire, 

 in June, 1834, in various parts of that county — generally in some swampy marsh, 

 or by the margins of the small lakes common in that region. It was very wild and 

 wary, except when it had tender young, at which time, when first disturbed, it would 



' Describeil from Audubon's specimen, supposed to have been obtained in Florida. 



