554 THE MARBLED GOD WIT. 



About 1.75X1.37, they are white, marked with dark brown 

 and lilac, the blotches being clear-edged and strong, thus 

 readily differentiating the eggs. 



THE MARBLED GODWIT. 



Occasionally during August, the gunners about the bay 

 would take the Marbled Godwit [Liimsa fceda). Length 

 18.50, stretch 31.00, bill 4.05, it is dark brown, variously 

 marked with reddish-yellow; the wings and tail reddish- 

 yellow marked with brown; beneath, a fine light-red, light- 

 est on the throat, and streaked and banded generally, ex- 

 cept on the abdomen, with brown. This fine species is 

 readily recognized by its color, its large size and slightly 

 upturned bill. Though common in winter from the Caro- 

 iinas southward, especially in Florida, it is rare on the 

 Atlantic Coast to the north in summer. It is abundant, 

 however, west of the Mississippi, breeding in great num- 

 bers about the ponds and sha,llow pools of Minnesota, 

 Dakota and the Northwest Territory. The nest is a 

 slight arrangement of dried grass, in a depression in the 

 ground. The eggs, 2-4, 2.22X1.47, long-oval, are creamy 

 or buff, rather sparsely marked and blotched with light- 

 brown and neutral. This species is occasionally found on 

 the Niagara in the migrations. 



The Hudsonian Godwit (Limvsa hudsonica), breeding in 

 the arctics and wintering beyond our limits, is not uncom- 

 mon on the Atlantic Coast in the migrations. Nearly 15.00 

 long, and 26.50 in extent, the bill is but 2.25. Of a general 

 resemblance to the former in color, the white in the wings, 

 seen in flight, and that of the rump and in the base of the 

 tail, strongly characterize it, giving it the name of " Spot- 

 rump " or " Ring-tail," among sportsmen. The nest is sim- 

 ilar to that of the former, but the eggs, 2.18X1.38, are dark 

 greenish-brown, lightly marked with dark brown. 



