32 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Family SCOLOPACIDiE.— The Sx\ipe Family. 



The characters of the family Scolopacida) havinp^ been f2:iven in 

 sufficient detail on p. 18, in the analysis of the families of Limi- 

 colae, it is unnecessary to repeat them here. The Scolopacidae 

 are amon^ the most widely dispersed of birds, a large propor- 

 tion of the genera being nearly cosmopolitan. They embrace a 

 very great variety of forms, from the diminutive '"Peeps" 

 {Actod/romas and Ereunetes), smaller than a Sparrow, to the 

 large Curlews, of Ibis-like stature and appearance. The bill 

 may be either straight, bent upward, as in the Avocets (e. g. 

 Limosa and Terekia), or strongly decurved like a sickle; nar- 

 rowed at the end, or widely expanded into a paddle-shaped 

 form {Euryiwrhynclius). The legs may be short and stout (as 

 in Arquatella^ Calidris^ etc.), or of almost stilt-like length (as in 

 Micropalama, Totanus, etc.). Between these wide extremes of 

 form, however, there are others possessing characters interme- 

 diate in almost every conceivable degree — so much so as to 

 render it extremely difficult to tabulate the characters of the 

 numerous genera. The following is an attempt at a diagnostic 

 table of the North American genera.* 



A. Bill longer than the tarsus and middle too, straight. 



B. Bill shorter than the tarsus and middle toe, straight or slightly curved (either 

 up or down); wing lengthened, pointed. 



C. Bill widely expanded laterally at the end. 



D. Bill much longer than tarsus, decidedly decurved or arched, 



A. {Scolopacin(B.) 



a. Tibial completely feathered. 



1. Scolopax. Outer auill longest, broad, like the others. 



2. Philohela. Outer quill shorter than the sixth, the three outer primaries 

 abruptly much narrower than the rest. 



b. TibirB partly naked. 



3. Gallinago. Toes all cleft to the base. 



4. Macrorhamphus. A well-developed web between anterior toes, at base. 



B. (Trinainw.) 



a. Feathers of the forehead not reaching to the nostril; anterior toes all 

 webbed at the base. 



♦ There are but two additional genera of this family in South America; viz., Fhegoru is 

 Gray (type Leptopus mitchelli Fraser), and Khynchcea, 



