632 
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS — LIMICOL^. 
nearly as long as the bill. Toes moderate, slender, slightly margined, the middle one. about 
three-fourths the tarsus. One species, noted for its resemblance to a miniature curlew. 
635. A. subarqua'tus. (Lat. subarquatus or subarcuatus, littled curved, as the bill is.) Curlew 
Sandpiper. Ferrugineous Sandpiper. Adult: Crown of head and entire upper parts 
lustrous greenish-black, each feather tipped and deeply indented with bright yellowish -red. 
Wing-coverts ashy-brown, each feather with a dusky shaft-line and reddish edging. Primaries 
deep dusky, their shafts brown at base and black at tip, the central portion nearly white. 
Upper tail-coverts white with broad bars of dusky, and tinged at their extremity with reddish. 
Tail light gray with greenish reflections. Sides of the neck and entire under parts unifonn 
deep brownish-red. Under tail-coverts barred with dusky. Axillars and under wing-coverts 
white. Bill and legs greenish-black. Young in autumn : Crown of head and back brown- 
ish-black, with a slight greenish lustre, each feather edged with white or reddish- yellow. 
Rump plain dusky ; upper tail-coverts white. Wing-coverts with broad grayish-white borders. 
Tail light ashy, edged and tipped with white, the central feathers Mdth a subterminal dusky 
border in addition. Under parts entirely white, the breast and sides of the neck finely streaked 
with dusky, the former with a light buff tinge. Length 8.50 ; wing 4.90 ; bill (average) 1.50; 
tarsus 1.30; toe 0.90; tibia bare 0-70. Inhabits most of the Old World; in America A'ery 
rare, little more than a straggler along the Atlantic Coast. (For particulars of a dozen or 
more instances of its occurrence, see New England Bird Life, vol. ii., p. 224.) 
239. TRIN'GA. (Lat. tringa or trynga or tnjngas, a sandpiper.) Robin Sandpiper. Bill 
about as long as, or rather longer than, the head, straight, stout, somewhat compressed, 
widening uniformly from the middle to the slightly expanded, rather hard tip; the culmen 
depressed on the terminal half to the expansion at tip, and obsoletely furrowed. Both mandi- 
bles deeply grooved to the tip. Nostrils very large and placed far forward in the upper groove. 
Feathers extending on the lower mandible much further than on the upper, and nearly as far 
as those between the rami. Wings long, pointed, first primary decidedly longest. Secon- 
daries moderately incised. Tertials short, broad, and comparatively stitf. Tail rather short, 
nearly even, the central feathers projecting but little if any. Legs short and very stout; 
tarsus usually shorter than the bill; longer than the middle toe. Tibial feathers reaching 
nearly to joint ; tibiae bare for nearly two-thirds the tarsus. Toes very short and stout, free 
at base, widely margined ; outer lateral longer than inner. Hind toe present, well developed. 
Claws short, stout, blunt, much curved, dilated on the inner edge. Size large, form stout. 
636. T. canu'tus. (Named for King Canute.) Red-breasted Sandpiper. Ash-colored 
Sand.piper. Gray- back. Robin- snipe. Knot. Largest of North American Tringece. 
Bill stout, straight, rather longer than the head, upper mandible widely and deeply grooved to 
the expansion at tip. Feathers extending on lower mandible much farther than on upper, 
and nearly as far as those between the rami. First primary decidedly longest ; tail short, 
nearly even ; legs short, stout ; tarsus usually shorter than the bill, but much exceeding the 
middle toe. Adult in summer : Upper parts brownish-black, each feather broadly tipped and 
edged with ashy-white, tinged with reddish-yellow on the scapulars. Rump dark ash, barred 
with dusky ; upper tail-coverts white, with transverse sagittate or crescentic bars of brownish- 
black. Tail grayish-ash, edged with ashy-white. Outer webs and tips of primaries deep 
dusky, the inner much lighter. Secondaries and coverts grayish-ash, broadly edged and tipped 
with ashy-white. Line over the eye and entire under parts uniform brownish-red, fading into 
white on the flanks and under tail-coverts, which latter are marked with sagittate spots of 
dusky. Bill and feet greenish -black. Young in autumn : Upper parts a uniform dark ash, 
or cinereous, each feather tipped with ashy or pure white, and having a subterminal edging of 
dusky-black, producing a conspicuous set of black and white semicircles, very characteristic of 
the species in this plumage. Indistinct line over the eye, and whole under parts, white, more 
or less tinged with light reddish, the throat, breast, and sides with rather sparse, irregularly 
