80 
TRINGINJE. LIMOSA. 
narrow, pointed, witli thirty quills, the first longest, the rest j 
rapidly graduated ; secondaries slightly incurved, some of 
the inner much elongated and tapering ; tail short, of twelve 
rounded feathers, the four medial a little longer. 
The Godwits differ little from the Curlews in their habits, j 
They are generally distributed, and two species occur in 
Britain. 
190. Limosa rufa. Barred-tailed Godwit. 
Bill about four inches long, bent upwards ; male about fif- 1 
teen, female seventeen inches long ; tarsus about two inches I 
and two-twelfths ; bill flesh-coloured, dusky in its terminal 
half ; feet greyish-blue, toes darker, claws black, short, blunt, j 
that of the middle toe without curvature. In winter, the head 
and neck pale grey, with small brownish-grey streaks ; a 
broad band over the eye ; the throat, breast, and other lower j 
parts white ; feathers of the fore part of the back and scapu- 
lars grey, with a central brown streak ; hind part of back 
white ; tail white, with eight dusky bars. In summer, the 
upper part of the head blackish-brown streaked with reddish ; j 
band over the eye light red ; cheeks, throat, and lower parts 
yellowish-red ; feathers of the fore part of the back and scapu- 
lars blackish-brown, mottled with reddish-yellow and light 
grey ; hind part of back white with yellow spots ; tail white, 
barred with brown. Young with the upper part of the head 
blackish-brown, streaked with pale brownish-grey ; band over 
the eye white, dotted with brown ; cheeks and neck all round 
light brownish-grey, streaked with grey ; lower parts white ; 
upper variegated with blackish-brown and pale reddish-grey ; 
hind part of back white, with dusky spots ; tail white, barred 
with dusky. 
Male, 15, 30, 8 A, 2 T * ¥ , l T v, A- Female, 17J, 31. 
When seen flying at a moderate distance, this bird so much 
resembles the Whimbrel, that I have several times mistaken 
it for that species. It appears in small flocks on our coasts 
in the beginning of September, frequenting more especially 
the muddy parts at the mouths of streams, remains with us 
during the winter, and disappears in April. Its flight is 
moderately rapid, light, somewhat buoyant, and greatly re- [ 
sembles that of the Curlews. It emits a loud, shrill whistle, 
and on rising utters a low, modulated sound. Walking for 
the most part sedately, but sometimes running, it taps and 
probes the mud and sands in search of worms and other small 
