464 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



Description. 



Bill long, curved upwards ; both mandibles grooved; wings long; tail short; legs 

 long ; tibia with its lower half naked ; toes rather short, margined and flattened under- 

 neath ; the outer and middle toes united by a rather large membrane ; entire upper 

 parts variegated with brownish-black and pale-reddish, the former disposed in irregu- 

 lar and confluent bands, and the latter in spots and imperfect bands ; in many speci- 

 mens the black color predominating on the back, and the pale-red on the rump and 

 upper tail coverts ; under parts pale-rufous, with transverse lines of brownish-black 

 on the breast and sides; under wing coverts and axillaries darker rufous; outer 

 webs of primaries dark-brown, inner webs light-rufous; secondaries light-rufous; 

 tail light-rufous, with transverse bars of brownish-black; bill pale-yellowish, red at 

 base, brownish-black at the end ; legs ashy-black. 



Total length, about eighteen inches; wing, nine; tail, three and a half; bill, four 

 to five ; tarsus, three inches ; iris, brown. 



Hab. — Entire temperate regions of North America; South America. 



A large and handsome shore bird, well known to sportsmen as the Godwit, and a 

 great favorite for shooting. From the collections of the surveying expeditions, it 

 appears to be equally abundant in the interior and on the Pacific, as on the eastern 

 coast of the United States. 



It is only in the spring and autumn migrations that the 

 Great Marbled Godwit is found in New England ; and at 

 those times it makes only a short stay, particularly in the 

 spring. 



They arrive from the south early in May, and pass to the 

 most northern countries, where they pass the season of 

 incubation. 



Of their breeding habits I am ignorant, and I have no 

 eggs in my collection to give a description here. 



In the autumn, even as early as the middle of August, 

 flocks of ten or a dozen birds appear in the marshes on the 

 seacoast of Massachusetts ; and, these flocks uniting their 

 numbers, sometimes as many as a hundred birds are found 

 together. They are called by our sportsmen " Dough " or 

 " Doe " Birds ; and, as they are in good condition and well 

 flavored, they are in great repute, and are hunted with great 

 activity. The gunners, using decoys, conceal themselves in 

 the manner described in the account of the Golden Plover 

 on a preceding page, and secure great numbers. They meet 

 with a ready sale in our markets, at very remunerative 

 prices ; and I have known of two gunners realizing sixty 

 dollars as the proceeds of one day's shooting. 



