GRxVLL^. 
245 
the first, and mottled with rufous above, and a black patch across the breast, in the breeding- season : it is the 
I commonest of all, and some breed on the upland moors. The Curlew Sandpiper (Sc. subarquata, Gm. ; Numenms 
africanus, Lath.), resembles the Knot in colouring and seasonal changes, and the Purre in size, with a still longer 
and more-arcuated bill ; it is not common, nor very rare, on the British shores. The Little Sandpiper (Tr. minuta) 
I is considerably less than the last, with a short bill ; it acquires some rufous tints in the spring, on the upper parts 
and across the breast, and is certainly rare, though very much overlooked. Three or four others occur as strag- 
ij glei's. These active-little birds take their food along the margin of the sea, following each retreating wave ; when 
, gregarious in considerable flocks, and in their winter plumage, the whole show alternately their grey upper 
j parts and white lower parts as they whirl in the air, producing a remarkable appearance, well known to those 
i accustomed to wander by the sea side.] 
' The Sanderlings {Arenaria, Bechst. ; CalidriSf Vigors) — 
Ij Merely differ in the absence of hind-toe, like the Plovers. 
jl One only is known (Charadrius calidris, Gmelin), the size of a Purre, with analogous seasonal changes to those 
of the Knot Sandpiper. [It appears to be almost generally diffused, and is common on the British shores.] 
i[ 
I The Falcinelles {EroUa, Vieillot) — 
jj Have the beak rather more arcuated than in the Curlew Sandpiper, but do not, as has been asserted, 
ji want the thumb. 
:| We are acquainted with one only, {Sc. pygmcea, Lin.), a bird proper to Africa, but which is occasionally found 
, in Europe. 
i; The Ruffs {Machetes, Cuv.) — 
[ Are true Sandpipers by the bill and feet, except that the palmature of their outer toes is nearly as 
j' considerable as in the Garabets, Godwits, &c. 
I One species only is known {Tr. pugnax,!^^..). Larger than a Snipe, and very celebrated for the furious combats 
ij which the males wage in spring for the possession of the females. At this epoch, the head becomes partly covered 
j' with red [or yellow] papillae, and the neck is furnished with a very considerable collar or rulf of lengthened feathers, 
i so variously marked and coloured in different individuals, that two can hardly ever be found alike, and rarely much 
i resembling each other. They have always yellow legs*, which, together w'ith the semi-palmation of the toes, assists 
: us to recognize them at all seasons. The species is common in the north of Europe, [and is remarkable for the 
i male exceeding the female in size, at variance with the other members of this group, but in accordance with 
' its polygamous habits. Vast numbers are brought from Holland to the London markets.] 
j America produces some species nearly allied, as the Hemipalamus, Bonap. ; or Tringa semipalmata, Wilson ; 
I [the habits of which are more allied to those of the Gambets, to which in fact they essentially belong]. 
i Near the Sandpipers should apparently be placed 
; The Spathe-bill {Eurinorhynchus, Wilson), — 
I Wliich is distinguished by a depressed bill, widened at the tip somewhat as in the Spoonbills, and the 
: only species of which is 
j The Platalea pygmcea, Lin. ; Eurinorynchus griseus, Wilson {Thun. Acad. Suec., 1816, pi. vi), which is one of 
j the rarest birds in existence, as it is only known by a single individual, grey above and white beneath, and about 
the size of a Purre Sandpiper. [It has since been met w'ith in northern Asia.] 
The Phalaropes {Phalarqpus, Brisson), — 
Are small birds, the bill of which, more flattened than in the Sandpipers, is otherwise similar as regards 
its proportions and lateral grooves, and the toes of which are bordered with very broad membranes, 
as in the Coots. [Their lower plumage resembles in texture that of the Gulls,] 
The known species {Tr. lohata and Tr. fuUcaria, Lin.), has a wide bill for a member of this family, and is in 
winter ash-coloured above, whitish below and on the head, with a black band upon the neck : it is then the Grey 
Phalarope {Tr. lohata, Edw.). In summer it becomes black, mottled with fulvous above, and of a deep reddish 
below [like the Knot Sandpiper, Godwits, &c.] : but at all seasons it retains a white spot on the wing, the rest of 
which is blackish. It is then the Red Phalarope {Ph. rufus, Bechstein and Meyer ; Tr. fulicaria, Lin.). This bird 
is rare in Europe [not very so in the British Isles, during the season of passage, when individuals are occasionally 
met with swimming upon inland ponds, like a very diminutive Duck, and evincing little fear or shyness : they 
also occur in small flocks, and breed chiefly within the Arctic circle]. 
The Turnstones {Strepsilas, Illiger), — 
Are rather lower on the legs, and have a short bill, and toes devoid of any palmature, like the true 
Sandpipers ; but their beak is conical, pointed, and without depression, compression, or inflation, and 
the nasal groove reaches only half-way. The thumb barely touches the ground. Their beak, rather 
