624 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —LIMICOL^. 



Fig. 438. —Stilt Sandpiper, 

 Nuttall, after Swainson.) 



reduced. (From 



wing 5.00; tail 2.25 ; "bill 1.50-1.70; tarsus the same ; middle toe and claw 1.00; tibia bare 

 1.00. Young, and adults in winter: Ashy-gray above, with or without traces of black and 

 bay, the feathers usually with white edging ; line over the eye and under parts white, the 

 jugubim and sides suffused with the color of the back, and streaked with dusky ; legs usually 

 pale greenish-yellow. The full breeding dress is of brief duration ; the birds are usually ashy 

 and white from September to 

 April, both inclusive. N. Am., 

 generally ; not observed W. of 

 the R. Mts. ; rare. Breeds in 

 high latitudes; migrates to W. 

 I. and C. and S. Am. 

 234. EREUNE'TES. (Gr. ip(vvr)- 

 njf, eretmetes, a searcher, pro- 

 ber.) Semipalmated Sand- 

 pipers. Bill normally about as 

 long as head, straight, quite 

 stout for this family, both man- 

 dibles deeply grooved to the ex- 

 panded vascular and sensitive 

 tip. Wings long, pointed ; sec- 

 ondaries obliquely incised. Tail 

 moilenite, doulily-emarginate, 

 witli pointed and projecting ceu- 

 tral feathers. Tarsus rather 

 longer than middle toe and claw, equal to the normal bill in length. Bare portion of tibiae 

 ■S as long as tarsus. Toes connected by broad basal webbing, and broadly margined. A true 

 sandpiper, chiefly distinguished from Tringa proper by the semipalmate feet (fig. 4S) ; from 

 Microj}alama, which is similarly webbed, by the shortness of the bill and feet. Very small ; 

 sexes alike ; summer and winter plumages different. 

 613. E. pusillus. (Lat. pusUliis, puerile, petty). Semipalmated Sandpiper. Peep. Bill, 

 tarsus, and middle toe with its claw, about equal to each other, an inch or less long, but bill very 

 variable, and apt to be sliorter — 0.66-0.87 ; feet semipalmate, with two evident webs ; length 

 5.50-6.50; extent about 11.75; wing 3.35-3.75; tail 2.00, doubly-emarginate, the central 

 feathers projecting. Adult ^ 9 , in summer: Above, variegated with black, bay, and ashy or 

 white, each feather with a black field, reddish edge and whitish tip; rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts except the lateral ones, blackish. Tail-feathers ashy-gray, the central darker; pri- 

 maries dusky, tlie shaft of the first white. A dusky line from bill to eye, and a wliite 

 superciliary line. Below, pure white, usually rufescent on the breast, and with more or less 

 dusky speckling on the throat, breast, and sides. In winter : Upper parts mostly plain ashy- 

 gray. Young in July and August have scarcely any traces of the spots beneath, being there 

 almost entirely white, with a light buff wash across breast ; there is also more white edging ol 

 the feathers of the upper parts ; but in any plumage and under any variation, the species is 

 known by its small size and semipalmate feet. The extreme variation in the length of the bill 

 is from 0.50 to 1.25, or 86 per cent of the average (0.S81. N. Am., everywhere ; an abundant 

 and well-known little bird, thronging our beaches during the migrations, which extend to the 

 West Indies and S. Amer. It is only known to breed in high latitudes, though it commonly 

 appears in the U. S. in August, and may sometimes be seen in other summer months. The 

 size, general appearance, and changes of plumage are much the same as those of Actodro- 

 mas minutiUa, and the habits of these two birds are very similar. Eggs 3-4, 1.22X0.84, of 

 usual shape ; ground from clay-color (usual) to grayish or greenish-drab or decidedly 



