THE BLACK-TAILED GOD WIT. 659 



belly dusky-brown, feathers with broad fringes of light pink- 

 cinnamon ; flanks white, suffused drab and tipped pink-buff, 

 sometimes irregularly barred dusky ; remaining under -parts white 

 or cream ; chin, throat and belly more or less suffused buff ; tail- 

 feathers as adult, but usually tipped buff, central pair sometimes 

 without drab tips ; wing as adult, but innermost secondaries and 

 coverts as scapulars ; median coverts dusky-brown or ashy-brown 

 with dark shafts and broad light buff or pink-buff fringes, sometimes 

 some with subterminal sepia shadings ; lesser coverts faintly edged 

 light buff. 



First Winter. Male and female. — As adult winter and only 

 to be distinguished by worn juvenile outer tail-feathers and worn 

 and faded juvenile median coverts. The juvenile body -feathers, 

 two or three central pairs of tail-feathers (possibly sometimes all), 

 innermost secondaries and coverts, some median and a few lesser 

 coverts are moulted Aug. to Jan., but not rest of wings. First 

 summer. — Some body -feat hers and innermost secondaries are 

 moulted in spring. Some birds apparently assume adult summer- 

 plumage and are only distinguished from adult by worn appear- 

 ance of wing-coverts and faded buff edges to juvenile innermost 

 median coverts, when not too abraded ; some April and May birds 

 were in moult into summer and others into winter plumage, but 

 as only birds in moult were examined it is impossible to say how 

 much breeding plumage is ultimately acquired. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 210-226 mm., tail 

 74-89, tarsus 75-82, bill from feathers 88-107 (12 measured). 

 $ wing 215-240, bill from feathers 104-126. Primaries : 1st 

 minute, 2nd longest, 3rd 3-5 mm. shorter, 4th 8-15 shorter, 5th 

 20-29 shorter, 6th 32-42 shorter. Longest 

 inner secondary between 4th and 7th prima- 

 ries. Bill long, straight, deep at base, tip 

 slightly expanded and swollen, nasal groove 

 and groove in lower mandible extending 



, ,,,• t i i j_nji Claw of middle toe of the 



almost to tip. Legs long, tarsus scutellated Biack-taiied Godwit. 



nearly to tibio -tarsal joint, toes long, claw 



of middle toe with inner edge strongly pectinated. Other struc- 

 ture as in L. lapponica. 



Soft parts. — Bill, more than basal half flesh-pink, brownish on 

 culmen, terminal portion brown, darkest at tip ; legs and feet 

 blackish -green, pales and browner on toes ; iris dark brown. 



Characters and allied forms. — L. I. melanuroides (E. Siberia) 

 is smaller. Distinguished from L. I. lapponica by black tail and 

 white wing-bar (formed by broad white tips to greater coverts) ; 

 from allied species by long straight bill slightly recurved at tip. 



Field -characters. — Distinctive characters are referred to under 

 last species, and it is only necessary to emphasize greater size and 

 much longer legs and bill, latter nearly straight. In flight long legs 

 project behind tail and wing is trifasciate, a broad ill-defined white 



