624 
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — LIMICOL^. 
Fig. 438. —Stilt Sanrlpiper, 
Nuttall, after Swainson.) 
in breeding dress, reduced. (From 
wing 5.00; tail 2.25 ; bill 1.50-1.70 ; tarsus the same ; middle toe and claw 1.00; tibia bare 
1.00. Young, and adults in winter : Ashy-gray above, with or without traces of black and 
bay, the feathers usually with white edging ; line over the eye and under parts white, the 
juguhim and sides suifused with the color of the back, and streaked with dusky ; legs usually 
pale greenish-yellow. The full breeding dress is of brief duration ; the birds are usually ashy 
and white from September to 
April, both inclusive. N. Am., 
generally ; not observed W. of 
the R. Mts. ; rare. Breeds in 
high latitudes; migrates to AV. 
I. and C. and S. Am. 
234. EREUNE'TES. (Gr. 
Tr}s, ereunetes, a searcher, pro- 
ber.) Semipalmated Sand- 
pipers. Bill normally about as 
long as head, straight, quite 
stout for this family, both man- 
dibles deeply grooved to the ex- 
panded vascular and sensitive 
tip. Wings long, pointed ; sec- 
ondaries obliquely incised. Tail 
moderate, doubly-emarginate, 
with pointed and projecting cen- 
tral feathers. Tarsus rather 
longer than middle toe and claw, equal to the normal bill in length. Bare portion of tibije 
t as long as tarsus. Toes connected by broad basal webbing, and broadly margined. A true 
sandpiper, chiefly distinguished from Tringa proper by the semipalmate feet (fig. 48) ; from 
Micropalama, which is similarly webbed, by the shortness of the bill and feet. Very small ; 
sexes alike ; summer and winter plumages different. 
612. E. pusil'lus. (Lat. pusillus, puerile, petty). Semipalmated Sandpiper. Peep. Bill, 
tarsus, and middle toe with its claw, about equal to each other, an inch or less long, but bill very 
variable, and apt to be shorter — 0.66-0.87 ; feet semipalmate. Math two evident webs ; length 
5.50-6.50; extent about 11.75; wing 3.25-3.75; tail 2.00, doubly-emarginate, the central 
feathers projecting. Adult ^ 9 , in summer: Above, variegated with black, bay, and ashy or 
white, each feather with a black field, reddish edge and whitish tip; rump, and upper tail- 
coverts except the lateral ones, blackish. Tail-feathers ashy-gray, the central darker; pri- 
maries dusky, the shaft of the first white. A dusky line from bill to eye, and a w^hite 
superciliary line. Below, ])ure white, usually rufescent on the breast, and with more or less 
dusky speckling on the throat, breast, and sides. In winter : Upper parts mostly plain ashy- 
gray. Young in July and August have scarcely any traces of the spots beneath, being there 
almost entirely white, with a light buff wash across breast ; there is also more white edging of 
the feathers of the upper parts ; but in any plumage and under any variation, the species is 
known by its small size and semipalmate feet. The extreme variati(m in the length of the bill 
is from 0.50 to 1.25, or 86 per cent of the average (O.SS). N. Am., everywhere ; an abundant 
and well-known little bird, thronging our beaches during the migrations, which extend to the 
West Indies and S. Amer. It is only known to breed in high latitudes, though it commonly 
appears in the U. S. in August, and may sometimes be seen in other summer months. The 
size, general appearance, and changes of plumage are much the same as those of Actodro- 
mas minutilla, and the habits of these two birds are very similar. Eggs 3-4, 1.22X0.84, of 
usual shape ; ground from clay-color (usual) to grayish or greenish-drab or decidedly 
