262 



SCOLOPACID^, SNIPE, ETC. GEN. 222. 



M 



M' 



F:o. 174. Long-billL-d Curlew. 



H 



, i ^ 222. Genus NUMENIXJS Linn^us. 



Long-billed Curleia. 8icIde-biTl. Bill of extreme length and curvature, 

 measiTring from 5 to 8 or 9 inches ; total length about 2 feet ; wing a foot 

 or less; tail about 4 inches; tarsus 2J-2f, scutellate only in front. 



Plumage veiy similar to that of the godwit ; 

 prevailing tone rufous, of varj'ing intensity in 

 different birds and on different jDarts of the same 

 bird, usually more intense under the wing than 

 elsewhere ; below, the jugulum streaked, and 

 the breast and sides with arrow-heads and bars, 

 of dusky ; above, variegated with black, especi- 

 ally on the crown, back and wings; tail barred 

 throughout with black and rufous ; secondaries 

 rufous ; primaries blackish and rufous ; no pure white anywhere ; bill black, 

 the under mandilile flesh colored for some distance; legs dark. Temperate 

 N. Am., abundant; breeds in the U. S. Wils., viii, 23, pi. 64; Ntjtt., 

 ii, 94; Aud., vi, .35, pi. 355; Cass, in Bd., 743. . . . longirostris. 

 V Hudsonian Ouiieiv. Jack Curlew. Bill medium, 3 or 4 inches long ; 

 length lG-18 ; wing 9 ; tail 3J ; tarsus 2^-2^. Plumage as in last species 

 in pattern, but general tone much paler; quills barred. N. Am., abundant; 

 breeds in British America ; U. S. chiefly during the migrations. Scolojoax 

 horealis Wils., vii, 92, pi. 56; ISf. intermedins Nutt., ii, 100. Aud., vi, 



42, pi. 356; Nutt., ii, 97; Cass, in Bd., 744 hudsonigus. 



y Esquimaux Curletv. Dough-bird. Bill small, under 3 inches long; 

 length 12-15 inches ; wing under 9 ; tail 3 ; tarsus 2. Plumage in tone aud 

 pattern almost exactly as in the last species, but averaging more rufous, 

 especially under the wings, aud primaries not barred. N. Am., abundant; 

 distribution much as in the last species. Swains., Fn. B.-Am., ii, 378, pi. 

 65; NuTT., ii, 101; Aud., vi, 45, pi. 357; Cass, in Bd., 744. borealis. 



Suborder IIER0DI0NE8. Herons and their Allies. 

 The character of this group has been indicated on p. 240. 



Family TANTALID^. Ibises. SpoonbiUs. 



Under this head I associate the genera Tantalus, Platalea and Ibis, with its 

 subdivisions ; all of these, especially the first, are very nearly related to the storks 

 (Ciconiidce) ; the last two agree more closely with each other, in the reinarkable 

 smallness of the tongue, and other characters. In all, the pterjdosis is more or 

 less completely storlv-like. The head is more or less perfectlj' bare of feathers in 

 the adult state, downy in j^oung. Birds of medium and very large size, long- 

 legged, long-necked and small-bodied, like the cranes, storks and herons, with 

 ample, more or less rounded wings, of which the inner quills are very large ; tail 

 very short, usually, if not always, of 12 broad rectrices ; tibife bare for a long 

 distance ; tarsi reticulate, or scutellate in front only ; toes four, the anterior webbed 



