SCOLOPACIDJE : GODWITS. 
635 
reaching nearly to end of bill ; symphyseal groove less extended. Gape of mouth moderate, 
scarcely cleft beyond base of culuien, as in Snipes and Sandpipers, not as usual among Tattlers. 
Wing l(^ng and pointed ) tail short and square. Tibia denuded below for a moderate space. 
Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw, scutellate before and behind, reticulate on sides. Toes 
short and stout, much flattened underneath, and widely margined; outer and middle semi- 
palmate, inner and middle with a slight web. Size large ; general aspect curlew-like, but 
bill recurved, not decurved. In character of bill approaching Snipes, especially Macrorhamphus, 
to which it is nearly related in some other respects, as seasonal clianges of plumage of most 
species. Sexes similar. Two N. Am. species, and two others, occumng in Alaska and 
Greenland, from Asia and Europe. 
Analysis of S2)ecies. 
Eump, tail and its upper coverts barred tlironghout witli blackish and rufous. Lining of wings chestnut. 
No extensive barring on under parts. No great seasonal changes of plumage ? Feathers not extend- 
ing on side of under mandible far beyond those on upper fceda 628 
Rump, tail, and its upper coverts barred throughout with white and black. Lining of wings and axillars 
white, with dusky marks w^opygialis 631 
Rump blackish, upper tail-coverts mostly white, tail black with white base and tip. Under parts in 
summer intense ferruginous, barred throughout. Lining of wings mostly blackish. Feathers extend- 
ing on side of lower mandible to a point beyond those on upper hcemastica 629 
Similar to L. lionmastica ; rump, tail and its coverts substantially the same. Lining of wings and axillars 
white . (zgocephala 630 
L. foe'da. (Lat. fceda^ ugly, ungainly, unseemly. Fig. 442.) Great Marbled God-vvit. 
Marlin. Feathers not extending on side of lower mandible to a point fiir beyond those on upper. 
No white anywhere ; rump, tail, and its coverts barred 
throughout with blackish and the body-color. Lining 
of wings chestnut ; axillars the same, more or less 
barred with black. General color rufous or light dull ^^^■^■ss^v 
cinnamon-red, uniform and nearly uninterrupted on 
all the under parts, richer and more chestnut on the 9«S^>^S^. 
lining of the wings and axillars ; somewhat marked 
with dusky on the sides of the breast and body ; on 
the whole upper parts variegated with the brownish- 
black central field of each feather, the blackish pre- 
dominating, leaving the rufous chiefly as scallops and ^ . .^^--^ m 
tips of the feathers. This rufous very variable in in- - i-^ 
tensity ; usually paler on upper than on under parts, 
and strongest under the wings. Primaries rufous, 
successively darkening from last to first, the outer 
webs and ends of the few outer ones blackish, the Fig. 442. — Godwit, greatly reduced. (From 
shaft of the first white. Bill livid flesh-colored, Tenney, after Audubon.) 
blackish on about terminal third; legs ashy-blackish. Large: length 16.00-22.00 inches; 
extent 30.00-40.00; wing somewhere about 9.00; tail 3.00-4.00; bill 3.50-5.50, generally 
about 4.00; tarsus 3.00, more or less; middle toe and claw 1.50; few birds vary more in 
size. Sexes not distinguishable ; no ashy and whitish plumage known. Temperate N. Am. ; 
the largest of the bay-birds" excepting the long-billed curlew; conspicuous by its size and 
red color among the waders that throng the shores and muddy or sandy bars of bays and 
estuaries during the migration. Known to breed chiefly in the upper Mississippi and Eastern 
Missouri regions, in Iowa, Minnesota, and Dakota, to the Saskatchewan ; does not appear to 
go far along the Atlantic coast northward. Nests anywhere on the prairie, not necessarily 
near water ; eggs 3-4, about 2.28 X 1.60, light olive-drab, numerously but not very boldly 
spotted with various umber-brown shades, and the usual stone-gray shell-spots. 
Tj. haemas'tica. (Gr. at/iacrriKoy, haimastiJcos, of bloody-red color.) Hudsonian Godwit- 
