H' 



254 SCOLOPACID^, SNIPE, ETC. GEN. 206, 207-211. 



generally dispersed, hut apparently not very common anywhere ; West Indies 

 in winter; U. S. during the migrations; breeds in high latitudes. Auc, 

 V, 271, pi. 334; Nutt., ii,-138, 140, 141 ; Sw., F. B.-A. ii, 379, 380, pi. 

 66; Cass. inBo., 726; Coues, Proc. Phila. Acad. 1861, 174. himantopus. 



^ 206. Genus EREUNETES lUiger. 



M- Semipalmated SandjnjKr. 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 shorter — f-J ; feet semipahnate, with two evident webs; 

 length 5 J-6J; wing 3^-3| ; tail 2, doubly emarginate, the central feathers 

 projecting. Adult in summer: above, variegated with black, bay, and ashy 

 or white, each feather Avith a black field, reddish edge and whitish tip ; 

 rump, and upper tail coverts except the lateral ones, blackish ; tail feathers 

 ashy-gra}', the central darker ; primaries dusky, the shaft of the first white ; 

 a dusky line from bill to eye, and a white superciliary line ; 

 beloAV, pure white, usually rufescent on the breast, and with 

 more or less dusky speckling on the throat, breast and sides, 

 in young birds usually wanting ; in winter the upper parts 

 mostly plain ashj^-gray ; but in any plumage and under any 

 variation, the species is known by its small size and 

 Fig. 105. semipahnate feet. The extreme variation in the length of 

 the bill is from J to IJ, or 86 per cent, of the average {^). N. Am., 

 everywhere an aljundant and well known little bird, thronging our beaches 

 during the migrations. Tringa semipalmata Wils., vii, 131, pi. 63, f. 4; 

 Nutt., ii, 136; Aud., v, 277, pi. 336; Ereunetes petrijicatus Cass, in 

 Bd. , 724 ; E. piisillus Coues, Proc. Pliila. Acad. 1861, 177. Var. occidentalis 

 Lawr., 26icZ. 1864, 107 ; Elliot, pi. 41 pusillus. 



207-11. Genus TRINGA Linnaeus. 



*BiIl, tarsus, aad middle toe with claw, of about equal length. {Actodromas.) 

 t Upper tail coverts (except the lateral series) black or very dark brown; 

 jugulum with an ashy or brownish suffusion, and dnsliy streaks. • 



Least Sandpiper. Peep. Smallest of the sandpipers ; 5J-6 ; wing 3J-3J ; 

 tail 2 or less ; bill, tarsus, and middle toe witli claw, about f ; bill black ; 

 legs dusky-greenish ; upper parts in summer with each feather blackish 

 centrally, edged with bright bay, and tipi^ed with ashy or white ; in winter, 

 and in the young, simply ashy; quills blackish, the shaft of the first white ; 

 tail feathers gray with whitish edges, the central blackish, usually with 

 reddish edges ; crown not conspicuously diflerent from hind neck ; chestnut 

 edgings of scapulars usually scalloped ; below, white, marked as above 

 stated. North America, very abundant ; this species and the last are usually 

 confounded under the common name of "sandpeeps," and look much alike ; 

 but a glance at the toes is sufficient to distinguish them. Tringa minutilla 

 Vieillot; Coues, Proc. Phila. Acad. 1861, 191; T. pusilla Wils., v, 32, 

 pi. 37, f. 4; Aud., v, 280, pi. 337; T. minuta Sw., F. B.-A., ii, 385; 

 Nutt., ii, 119 ; T. ivilsoni Nutt., ii, 121 ; Cass, in Bd., 721. minutilla. 



