191 
GODWITS. 
"With the last we entered into a race of birds, 
remarkable in the changes incident to the plumage 
between the breeding season and winter. In the 
genera which are now to follow, it is very dissimi- 
lar, assuming in some, colours of bright chestnut- 
red, mingled with deep black, in others of grey, also 
decidedly marked with black and white. This dif- 
ference in appearance has given rise to a varied 
synonimy, and often to ono species being described 
as several distinct birds. The Godwits, Limosa, 
frequent the open coasts during winter, and breed 
in inland marshes, differing from the true snipes in 
the habit of never frequenting or skulking among 
cover of any kind, and of being extremely noisy 
and vociferous when their nest or joung is ap- 
proached — the change and colours of their plumage, 
and their whole structure, adapted for an open, 
partly maritime life, not for seeking their chief sus- 
tenance by boring into soft marshes, and seizing 
their slender and minute prey by the sense of touch 
rather than that of sight. 
Limosa, Brisson — Generic characters. — Bill very 
long, strong at the base, compressed, bending 
upwards ; mandible smooth,, rounded, slightly 
dilated at the tip, projecting beyond the max- 
illa; wings long, quills with the shafts very 
strong, flattened, first longest ; legs long ; tibite 
