612 GLEANINGS. 



The Red-breasted Sandpiper, Gray-back or Robin Snipe 

 (TV/wg'a f(?««/«j), some 10.50 long, has the usual markings 

 of the Sandpipers above, but is known by its brownish-red 

 breast, fading into white on the flanks. It is an abundant 

 migrant on the Atlantic Coast. 



The Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites rufescens), about 

 7.50 long, with a very short bill, is known by the delicate 

 pale reddish of the sides of the head, neck and under parts, 

 and by the fine cross-penciling of dusky or white on the 

 under side of the wing. It is generally distributed, but 

 not common in Eastern North America, 



The Long-billed Curlew or Sickle-bill {Numenius longiros- 

 i?-is), the total length of which is about 2 feet, and colored 

 somewhat like the Marbled Godwit, may always be known 

 by its long, downward-curved bill, 6 or 8 inches in length. 

 It is common to Eastern North America, and breeds in the 

 northwest. 



The Hudsonian Curlew (jV. hudsonicus), some 17 inches 

 long, color similar but paler than the former, ranks next in 

 size in this genus. It is chiefly a migrant in the United 

 States. 



The Esquimaux Curlew (^N. borealis), several inches smaller 

 than the former, similar in color, has the peculiar bill, short 

 (less than 3 inches) for the genus. As indicated by its 

 name, it is but a migrant. 



The Ibises, somewhat resembling the Herons in form, are 

 birds of the south. The Wood Ibis {Tantalus loculator) is 

 about 4 feet long, the bill curved downward; the naked 

 head is wrinkled and bluish, legs blue, bill pale-greenish, 

 plumage white, except the tail and fore part of the wing, 

 which are black. The elegant Glossy Ibis (Ibis falcindlus) is 

 two feet long, " plumage rich, dark chestnut, changing to 

 glossy, dark green, with purplish reflections on the head, 



