3o6 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



HUDSONIAN GODWIT 



Limosa hcEtnastica 



In summer: Above dark brownish black, mixed on the head with 

 longitudinal streaks of whitish, on the neck with pale chestnut, and 

 with many of the feathers of the back spotted or edged with pale 

 chestnut ; wings and tail blackish, the upper half of the inner webs 

 of the primaries and secondaries, the basal part of the outer rectrices, 

 and a broad band across the upper tail-coverts pure white ; beneath, 

 cheeks and throat whitish, becoming pale chestnut on the neck, longi- 

 tudinally striped with blackish ; rest of under surface deeper chestnut, 

 transversely barred with blackish. In winter: Above uniform dull 

 brownish ; head, neck, and under surface dirty white or pale buff ; 

 length 14.3, wing 8.5 inches. 



The Hudsonian Godwit, Mr. Seebohm tells us, 

 " breeds on the tundras of North America north 

 of the forest-growth, from Alaska to BafHn's Bay, 

 but is rare at the western extremity of its range." In 

 winter it goes far south, like most of the other Grallx, 



Dumford found it " common from April to Sep- 

 tember about the lagoons and arroyos to the south 

 of Buenos Ayres " j and states that in habits it much 

 resembles the Bar-tailed Godwit of Europe {Limosa 

 lapponica) . He also met with it in Chupat, and obtained 

 two specimens there on the 13th of November, 1876. 



I have met with it in flocks during the summer of 

 the Southern Hemisphere, and these birds, as well 

 as those obtained by Durnford, were undoubtedly 

 visitors from the north ; but invariably small fiocl^ 

 of half a dozen to thirty birds begin to appear on the 

 pampas in April, and remain there, as Durnford 

 says, until September, when the northern migrants 

 are nearly due* These individuals must therefore 



