98 



SCOLOPACID i: 



and brown feathers of its summer dress, interspersed with its 

 otherwise sober coloured winter plumage. This specimen 

 has the upper part of the head and cheeks ash-colour tinged 

 with brown, the nape and breast the same ; the chin, throat, 

 and a streak over the eye white ; the feathers of all these 

 parts having dark shaft streaks ; the scapulars and back 

 present a mixture of the summer feathering, consisting of 

 dusky feathers bordered with brown or rufous, among which 

 are many feathers of a clear pigeon grey with narrow black 

 shafts. The wings and outer feathers of the tail are bistre- 

 brown ; the quill-feathers of the wing and middle feathers of 

 the tail dusky. The rump feathers dusky, bordered with 

 paler brown. The belly, flanks, thighs, and upper and under 

 tail-coverts silvery white, some of the latter feathers as well 

 as the flanks having dusky centres. The under parts of the 

 quill-feathers are ash-colour with white shafts. The iris is 

 deep brown ; the beak is, in the adult, entirely black, within 

 and without ; in younger birds the beak is flesh colour at the 

 base ; the legs are shorter and thinner in proportion than 

 those of the dunlin, and naked for a considerable space above 

 the knee, between three and four lines — they are in colour 

 black, but in cabinet specimens soon become olive-brown. 



The young on their exclusion from the egg have the beak 

 straight in form, and greyish-black in colour, as well as their 

 clumsy little feet ; their plumage is a mixture of grey, black, 

 and rufous. At a more advanced state, they have the upper 

 parts rufous, with black centres to the feathers and white 

 tips ; the breast and flanks are pale brown or dirty white 

 marked with large and rather coarse dusky spots : the beak is 

 by this time become curved as in the adult. 



The winter plumage of the adult much resembles that of 

 the Purre and dunlin at the same season. In that state the 

 top of the head, breast and all the upper plumage, including 



