LIMOSA. 243 



and scapulars dark brown, with dark margined buffy yellow and 

 white bars ; wing-coverts and tertiaries pale olive, with black 

 margined transverse bands or bars of rufous buff, broader and more 

 conspicuous on the tertiaries ; outer web of the first primary grey 

 brown, the rest paler, and all with 5 — 6 buff or rufous buff ocelli ; the 

 interspaces between the basal three ocelli deep black, and between the 

 terminal ones greyish brown ; inner webs of primaries with white bars and 

 dark wavy lines and marblings ; secondaries ashy grey, ocellated with 

 buff on their outer webs, tbe interspaces basally black, and terminally 

 with dark brown wavy lines ; their inner webs, like the primaries, with 

 white bars and wavy lines, and the tips margined with white, the 

 patterns showing through paler on the under side of the wing; tail 

 ashy grey, with buff ocelli on both webs, and tipped with buff; 

 abdomen, vent and under tail-coverts white. The female has the lores, 

 sides of the face, upper breast and back of neck chestnut, the 

 feathers edged whitish on the upper breast ; back, scapulars and wing- 

 coverts, also the tertiaries dark olive with narrow, close, black striee, 

 the outermost tertials white, otherwise as in the male. Bill reddish 

 - brown; irides deep brown; legs and feet greenish. 



Length. — 9 to 10 inches, wing 4'9 to 5-2, tail 1*5 to 1'8, bill at front 

 1'8 to 2 inches. 



Hab. — Sind, Kutch, Kattiawar, Rajputana, Central India, Punjab, 

 N. W. Provinces and Ceylon. Breeds in Sind during May and June, 

 and in nearly all localities where it occurs. 



Sub-Family, LIMOSIN^,— Godwits. 



Bill much lengthened, curved or straight from the base, or turned 

 upwards ; tail short and even ; toes long, united at the base. 



Gen. Limosa. — Briis. 



Bill sub-curved at the tip, inclined upwards; 1st quill longest; outer 

 toe united to the middle as far as the first joint; tibia far more than 

 two-thirds its length ; tarsi long, hind toe half the length of the 

 outermost. 



Limosa SegOCephala, Lin.; P. E. 874, 916; Gould. B. Eur. pi. 

 305; Jerd. B. Ind. iii. p. 681; Str. F. i. 235; iv. 16; vi. 460; 

 Murray, Hdhh., Zool., %c., Sind, p. 215. — The Black-tailed Godwit. 



In winter plumage, the entire head, back of the neck, back, scapulars 

 and breast pale earthy grey, darker on the scapulars and back, where 

 each feather is dark shafted ; superciliary stripe, chin, throat, also the 

 abdomen and under tail-coverts white ; rump white, the feathers of the 

 upper tail-coverts black for their terminal half; tail white at the base, 

 the terminal two-thirds tipped black, the outer feathers for their termi- 

 nal third only, and all more or less narrowly tipped white ; primaries 

 and their coverts dusky brown, the inner primaries basally white, and 

 all white on their inner webs ; secondaries dusky terminally, white 

 basally, and some of the tertials with their outer webs white ; greater 



