176 EURINOEHTNCHTJS.— TRINGA, 



Genus EURINORHYNCHUS. 



e8=well; pry = nose; piyxoi=a. bill. 



Bill witli tip expanded, otherwise as in Tringa. Toes well cleft. Small web 

 between fourth and third toes. Hind toe present. 



174. Eurinorhynchus pygmaeus. The Spoon-billed Stint. 



S 6J". Legs black. BiU 1", black. Forehead, supercilia, cheeks, and 



axillaries white. Tail-coverts dark brown, margined white. Shafts white, tipped 



black. Lower parts snow-white. A very rare bird, visiting N.E. Siberia in 



summer, and found in winter in China, Burma, and Bengal. (J. 887. B. 1470.) 



Genus TRINGA. 



The late Latin form of Aristotle's Tpiyyas. Derivation unknown. 



Bill flexible, straight, or slightly curved downwards. Both mandibles grooved. 

 First quill longest. Tail even and without bars. Median rectrices pointed, and 

 sometimes projecting. Tarsus scutellated. Hind toe present. Anterior toes free 

 or barely united by a web. Migratory, breeding in N. Asia. 



Stints have shorter bills and legs than Godwits, and shorter and softer bills 

 than Sandpipers. Change of plumage in summer darker above and rufous be- 

 neath. Frequent marine marshes and seashore. Retire north in summer. 



It is on the shore, after recess of the tide, in company with other species, that 

 these birds are seen collecting their food from the refuse of the ocean, or quietly 

 and intently probing the moist sand for worms and small shell-fish, running before 

 the advancing surf, and profiting by what is left behind. 



(i.) Bill straight. Shafts of primaries mostly white. 



175. Tringa minuta. The Little Stint. 



Chota pan-loha, India. 



$ 6". Legs black. Bill -f^", black. — In winter : Above and sides ash-brown, 

 with broad black shaft stripes. Below white. Six outer tail-feathers brownish 

 grey. — In summer : Head, above, and central tail black, edged rufous. Breast 

 reddish. Middle toe f". Nesting in N. Europe and Siberia; wintering in Africa, 

 India, and Ceylon. Eggs (M x 0-8) grey, spotted brown. (J. 884 B. 1471.) 



176. Tringa ruficoUis. The Easteen Little Stint. 



$ 5J" to 6^". $ 5". Resembles T. minuta. Legs blackish. Bill black. 

 Forehead white. Primary shafts white about centre, sullied near base. Breast 

 white. From E. Siberia, China, and Japan, to Burma, Ma.lay Archipelago, and 

 Australia. (B. 1472.) 



Shafts of first primary white, of others brown. 



177. Tringa subminuta. The Long-toed Stint. 



(J 6". Legs pale brown. Bill olive. Above dark brown, edged lighter. 

 Shafts of primaries, with exception of first, are brown. Middle toe and claw 1". 

 AU tail-feathers brown. Ranges from E. Siberia in summer to Australia in 

 winter. Common during cold season in Burma, Bengal, and Ceylon. (S.F. i. 244. 

 B. 1473.) 



