40 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



coast it is known to sportsmen as the Dowitcher, Dowitcli, or 

 Gray-back, and in the latter part of summer, when the immense 

 flocks move southward, it is a favorite game bird. 



Macrorhamphus scolopaceus (Say). 



LONGhBILLED DOWITCHEB. 



Popular synonyms. Greater Loug-beak; Greater Gray-back; Red-bellied Snipe. 



Limosa scolopacea Say, Long's Exped. ii, 1823, 170. 

 Macrorhamphus scolopaceus Lawb. Ann. Lye. N. Y. v, 1852, 4, pi. 1 (Long Island).— 

 Cass, in Baird's B. N. Am. 1858. 712.— Baied, Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 525.— A. 0. U. 

 Check List. 1886, No. 232.— Ridgw. Man. N. Am. B. 1887, 151. 

 Macrorhamphus griseus var. scolopaceus CouES, Check List, 1874, No. 415a. 

 Macrorhamphus griseus scolopaceus Ridgw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 527a.— Coues, 



2d Check List, 1882, No. 610. 

 Macrorhamphus griseus, b, scolopaceus B. B. & R. Water B. N. Am. i, 1884, 196. 

 Scolopax longirostris Bell, Ann. Lye. N. Y. v, 1852, 3. 

 Macrorhamphus griseus (part) CouES, Key, 1872, 253; B. N. W. 1874, 476. 



Hab. North America in general, but chiefly the western portions of the continent; east 

 to the Mississippi Valley, north to Alaska, and south to South America and the West Indies. 

 Occasional along the Atlantic coast of the United States during migrations. 



Sp. Chae. Adult in summ,er: Similar to ilf.ffriseixs, but abdomen pale cinnamon, like rest 

 of lower parts, and without markings, the breast scantily speckled and the sides barred 

 with dusky. Winter plumage and young: Distinguishable from the corresponding stages 

 of ^. griseus only (?) by larger size. 



Wing, 6.40-6.00 (5.74); culmen, 2.19-3.00 (2.72); tarsus, 1.35-1.75 (1.58); middle toe, .97- 



1.15 a.oi). 



So far as known the habits of this species are essentialh' the 

 same as those of the M. grisem. We have at present no means 

 of knowing which is the commoner form in Ilhnois, but in all 

 probability the present one is that Avhich predominates. It is 

 rather a straggler along the Atlantic coast, where, however, 

 many specimens have been taken. 



Genus MICROPALAMA Baird. 



Micropalama Baird, B. N. Am. 1858, 720. Type, Tringa himantopus Bonap. 



"Chae. Form slender, the legs very long, the bill long and much compressed, the an- 

 terior toes all webbed at the base. Tarsus nearly twice as long as the middle toe, which is 

 a httle shorter than the bare portion ot the tibia, this scutellate before and behind, like the 

 tarsus. Bill slender, straight, about equal to the tarsus, greatly compressed, except at the 

 end, which is decidedly expanded laterally. Tail nearly even, but the central and exterior 

 feathers usually perceptibly longer than the rest. Wings long and pointed. 



"The present genus with a basal membrane to all the anterior 

 toes, as in Eremietes^ has this a little more deeply emarginate; 

 the bill and legs much longer; the former more curved. The 

 bare portion of tibia is covered before and behind by transverse 

 scutellaj, like the tarsus. The tail is nearly even, with a double 



