714 U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS ZOOLOGY GENERAL REPORT. 
Micropalama. — Bill slightly curved, longer than the head, hut equal to the tarsus. 
Bases of all the toes about equally webbed to a little beyond the first joint. Legs 
lengthened ; tibia with transverse scutellae. Tail nearly even. Body slender. 
Middle toe not two-thirds the tarsus. 
THING A, L i n n a ens. 
Tringa, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 1735. Type T. canutus, L. 
Ch. — Size moderate or small. General form adapted to dwelling on the shores of both salt and fresh waters, and subsisting 
on minute or small animals, in pursuit of which they carefully examine and probe with their bills sandy or muddy deposits and 
growths of aquatic plants, rocks, or otner localities. Flight rather rapid, but not very strong nor long continued. Bill 
moderate, or rather long ; straight, or slightly curved towards the end, which is generally somewhat expanded and flattened ; 
longitudinal grooves in both mandibles, distinct, and nearly the whole length of the bill ; wings long, pointed ; the first primary 
longest ; tertiaries long ; secondaries short, with their tips obliquely incised ; tail short ; legs moderate, or rather long, slender; 
the lower portion of the tibia naked, and with the tarsus covered in front and behind with transverse scales ; hind toe very 
small ; fore toes rather slender, with a membranous margin, scaly and flattened underneath, free at base. 
This genus comprises a large number of species of all parts of the world, some of 
which are very extensively diffused, especially during the season of their southern or autumnal 
migration. Generally these birds are met with in flocks, frequenting every description of 
locality near water, and industriously searching for the minute animals on which they feed. 
The species of the United States are migratory, rearing their young in the north, and in 
autumn and winter extending to the confines of the republic and into South America. The 
colors of the spring and autumnal plumage are different in nearly all species, though that of 
the two sexes is very similar. 
The following synopsis will serve to define the sub-genera : 
A. Bill longer than the head or tarsus. Bare space of tibia not exceeding half the tarsus. 
1. Bill straight, much flattened, and widening towards the tip. Tarsus longer than 
middle toe and claw. Feathers of tibia reaching nearly to joint. Tail nearly even. 
Tringa, Linn. 
2. Bill nearly straight, not widened at tip. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw. 
Feathers of tibia reaching to joint. Tail wedge-shaped. 
Arquatella, Baird. 
3. Bill slightly decurved beyond the middle ; very little widened at tip. Tarsus longer 
than middle toe and claw. 
Erolla, Yieill — Bill not depressed; with hard tip. 
Schoeniclus, Moehr. — Bill depressed ; with rather soft tip. 
B. Bill straight; not longer than the head. Bare space of tibia nearly two- thirds the tarsus. 
Jugulum conspicuously streaked in all seasons. 
1. Tarsus equal to the middle toe. Bill scarcely widened at end, except, perhaps, in 
T. maculata. Tail doubly emarginate, the central feather longest. 
Actodromas, Kaup. 
In further illustration of these sub-genera, the following remarks may appropriately be made : 
Tringa. — The tips of the tibial feathers extend nearly to the joint ; the really bare portion, 
however, is one half the length of tarsus. The toes are quite short, the middle one, with its 
claw, being scarcely more than two-thirds the tarsus. The claws are all short and blunt. 
Arquatella. — The hill is nearly straight, and very slender at base ; the gonys, however, is 
slightly concave. The feathers of the tibia extend over the joint ; the portion without any feathers 
inserted is nearly half the tarsus. The tarsus is remarkably short, being scarcely equal to the 
