18 WILLET. 



higher latitudes, visit the shores of Cohasset by the middle of 

 August, but, timorous, wild, and wandering, they soon hasten to 

 rejoin the host they had accidentally forsaken." 



Mr. Nuttall's description of the various plumages of the bird at 

 different ages and seasons, is so good that I make no apology for 

 continuing my quotation from his notice: — "In the summer plumage 

 the general colour above is brownish grey, striped faintly on the 

 neck, more conspicuous on the head and back, with blackish brown; 

 the scapulars, tertiarieSj and their coverts, irregularly barred with the 

 same. Tail coverts white; tail even whitish, thickly mottled with pale 

 ashy brown, that colour forming the ground of the central feathers, 

 which are barred with dusky brown at their extremities; spurious 

 wing primary coverts, a great portion of the anterior extremities 

 of the primaries, the axillary feathers, and under wing coverts black, 

 with a shade of brown; the remaining lower and longer portion of 

 the primaries, and the upper row of under wing coverts, white; the 

 posterior primaries tipped with the same; secondaries and the outer 

 webs of their greater coverts white, marbled with dusky. Wings 

 rather longer than the tail. The lores with a spotted liver brown 

 streak, bounded above by a spotted white one. Eyelids, chin, belly, 

 and vent white; the rest of the under plumage brownish white, 

 streaked on the throat, and transversely barred or waved on the 

 breast, shoulders, flanks, and under tail coverts with clove brown, 

 the bars pointed in the middle. 



Female coloured like the male, but an inch longer. Legs and feet 

 dark lead-colour, the soles inclining to olive; the toes broadly 

 margined with a sort of continuation of the web. Iris hazel. 



Winter dress with fainter spots on the upper plumage, and with- 

 out the dark waving transverse bars below; only the fore part of the 

 neck and breast of a cinereous tint, marked with small brown streaks. 



In the young of the year the cinereous prevails above, with a 

 tint of hair-brown on the summit of the head, back, and scapulars; 

 the spots ill defined, and wanting about the head, neck, and breast; 

 the two latter cinereous, very pale on the sides of the neck; rump 

 ash; tail coverts white. Scapularies and tertials edged with brownish 

 white indented spots, with indications of dusky brown bars. Below, 

 except the lower part of the neck, wholly white." 



My figures of this bird, a male in summer plumage, and egg are 

 from specimens kindly sent me by Canon Tristram, and received by 

 him from Dr. Brewer, the well-known American oologist. 



The species has also been figured by Nuttall, Wilson, Audubon, 

 Gould, and the authors of the "Fauna Boreali Americana." 



