SANDPIPERS 



(249) Limosa fedoa 



(Linn.) (Lat.. muddy). 



MARBLED GODVVIT ; COM- 

 MON MARLIN. Large birds with 

 very long, slightly curved bilk and 

 long legs. Ads. — Plumage as shown ; 

 general tone a deep buff; rump and 

 tail barred with blackisli. The plum- 

 age differs but httle either in summer 

 or winter. Young birds are whiter 

 below and have few bars. Size 

 quite variable as usual with shore 

 birds. L., 20.00; E.x., 35.00; W., 

 g.oo; T., 3.50; Tar., 3.00; B., 4.00. 

 Nest — A grass-lined depression in 

 the ground, not necessarily near 

 water; three or four, clay-color, 

 blotched with blackish, 2.15 .x 1.60. 



Range — Breeds from N. Dak. 

 to Sask. Winters from Fla. and La. 

 southward. Casual in migrations 

 north to Me. and B. C. 



than his share of the tiny insects and shellfish cast up by 

 the waves. They fly in compact flocks and make a very 

 handsome appearance as they wheel in unison, now showing 

 the under parts of their bodies, glistening like snow in the 

 sunlight, then turning so that the darker upper parts come 

 into view. 



They are birds of cosmopolitan distribution, breeding only 

 within the Arctic Circle. Although many of them winter 

 along our South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, some of them make 

 the long journey to Patagonia and South Africa. 



MARBLED GODWITS are large sandpipers, nearly as 

 large as curlews; in fact, they are quite often called Straight- 

 billed Curlews, but are perhaps more frequentl}' known as 

 Marlins. During migrations, they may be found on both 

 coasts of the United States, but during the summer they live 

 about the borders of ponds and marshes in the interior, from 

 North Dakota to Saskatchewan. Although usually in the 

 neighborhood of water, their nests are not necessarily near 

 the water's edge. In fact, they are very apt to choose a 



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