Mr. G. T. Fox's Notice of some rare Birds. 185 



( Numenius pygm&us, and A fricanus, Lath.; Tringa platyrhy?wa,TEMM.), 

 from which, however, it is quite distinct. Top of the head and back of 

 the neck, light cinereous, spotted with darker. Back and upper plumage 

 darker, with black feathers interspersed, edged with bright buff. Tail, 

 cinereous, the two middle feathers longer. This mark, however, it 

 has in common with the Dunlin and Pigmy Curlew, but the tail coverts 

 being white, blotched with black, distinguishes the species. Throat 

 white ; breast, light mottled with longitudinal dark streaks ; belly all 

 the way to the vent, white, with large blotches of chesnut red, the cha- 

 racteristic of the bird's summer plumage. Tarsi, black, above an inch 

 and an half long, whilst those of the other two species are not above an 

 inch. The length of the shank may serve to distinguish this species in 

 its winter livery, when the red of the lower parts gives way to a pure 

 white. 



I may notice that of the Sandpiper tribe, these three birds, viz. — the 

 Curlew Dunlin (Tringa subarquata. Temm.J, the Pygmy Curlew (Trin- 

 ga platyryncha, Temm.J, and the Common Dunlin (Tringa variabilis, 

 Temm.^), have the bills, at least the two former, always bowed, and the 

 latter sometimes ; they require consequently to be carefully distinguish- 

 ed from each other, though this character serves to distinguish them 

 from all other congenerous species. 



Durham, Oct. 12, 1831. 



Since the foregoing was read to the Society, I have the authority of 

 Mr. Selby for appropriating the Red Dunlin to Temminck's synonyme 

 of Tringa subarquata, and he is of opinion that this is the Pygmy Cur- 

 lew of British authors, and that no other species of small Curlew exists 

 in England ; the Tringa platyryncha of Temminck, amongst the syno- 

 nymes of which is placed our Pygmy Curlew, not being a native or vi- 

 sitor of these Isles. 



