380 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



edged round the tips with brownish-white and ferruginous. Wing coverts and lesser quills 

 hair-brown ; the latter, together with their greater coverts, slightly edged with white. Greater 

 quills blackish-brown ; shafts of the first one and of the secondaries brownish-white. Neck, 

 rump, tail coverts, and whole under plumage, brownish-white ; the chin, sides of the head 

 and neck marked with central spots or streaks of liver-brown, largest on the back of the neck; 

 the rump, tail coverts, and under plumage of the body barred with the same, most strongly 

 on the flanks, and most imperfectly on the middle of the belly, which has also less of the 

 brown tinge. Chestnut-coloured bands on the lores, above the eye, and on the ears. Central 

 pair of tail feathers blackish-brown, striped, tipped, and barred with ferruginous ; lateral tail 

 feathers broccoli-brown, striped on the shafts and inner webs with white. Bill black. 



Form. — Bill rather long, slender, moderately high at the base, very slightly arched towards 

 the point, which is depressed, conspicuously dilated, and minutely pitted when dry. Tail as 

 long as the wings, very slightly doubly-forked, and consisting of twelve feathers. Legs and 

 toes slender. Fore toes connected by webs ; the inner web, which is smallest, is half the 

 length Of the first phalanx of the inner toe. 









Dimensions. 













Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin. 



Inch. 



Lin. 



ngth, total 



10 



3 



Length of bill to rictus 



. 1 



7i 



'2 



Length of middle nail . 



2 



„ of tail 



. 2 



C 



,, of tarsus . . 



1 



7-1 



,, of inner web . 



2 



„ of wing 



. 5 



1§ 



,, of naked thigh 



1 



1 



„ of outer web . . 



3i 



,, of bill above 



. 1 



n 



,, of middle toe . 



. 



10 



„ of hind toe and nail 



31 



[148.] 2. Tringa himantopus. (Bonap. ?) Slender-shanks Sandpiper. 



Genus, Tringa, Briss. 



Tringa (Hemipalama) himantopus. Bonap. Ann. Lye. New York, ii., p. 157 ? Syn., No. 245? 



In 1822 we killed several specimens of a Sandpiper, on the flats at the 

 mouth of Hayes River, from which, when recent, the subjoined description was 

 taken. Specimens were brought home in spirits ; but, probably from being 

 too much injured, were not noticed by Mr. Sabine with the other birds, in the 

 Appendix to Sir John Franklin's narrative of his first Journey. It differs from 

 Tr. Douglasii in the length of its legs, and in the tail-coverts and under- 

 plumage not being barred with liver-brown, nor the central tail-feathers barred 

 and striped with ferruginous. The Prince of Musignano does not describe the 

 under-plumage of Tr. himantopus, but his short characters agree well with our 

 bird, excepting the tail coverts. A comparison of specimens, however, is 

 required to ascertain the identity of our bird with Tr. himantopus, also to 

 establish Tr. Douglasii as a distinct species. 



