NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 
179 
minor of Gundlach. is founded upon shortness of bill as a character ; as is also 
(fide Gen. Rep.) the Tringa brevirostris of Spix. By the same authority the 
Eeteropoda mauri of Bonaparte is considered as merely a larger race of the 
present species. 
TRINGA Linnaeus. 
Tringa , Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 1735. Tyups T. canutus, L. (fide G. R. Gray.) 
Calidris , Cuvier, Regne An. 1817, Typus T. canutus , L. (Nec. Cuv. 1800, cujus 
typus T. arenaria, i. fide G. R. Gray.) 
Canutus , Brehm, 1830, (fide G. R. Gray.) 
Char. — 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 obsoletelv furrowed. Both mandibles 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. Secondaries moderately incised. Tertials short, 
broad, and comparatively stiff. 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, general form stout. 
In the above diagnosis I have drawn the characters of the genus so as to 
include only the type ( canutus ) upon which it was founded. In this acceptation 
it may be considered as typical of the section, embodying as it does the most 
characteristic features of the group, and presenting their usual variations ; very 
great in plumage and in the length of the bill, and slight in the proportions of 
the legs and shape of the wings and tail. The essential characters lie in the 
stout, moderately long, straight bill, which usually considerably exceeds the 
tarsus, which latter is much longer than the very short stout toss; the long 
tibial feathers, long pointed wings, and short nearly even tail. The peculiar 
proportions of bill and legs is shared by no other Sandpiper, so far as my 
knowledge extends, except Calidris , which is evidently closely allied. This 
genus, however, is at once distinguished by the marked character of the 
absence of the hind toe. The affinities of Ereunetes have already been adverted 
to. Arquatella presents the next closest relationship, but is well characterized 
by the extremely abbreviated tarsus, rounded tail, and some other features. 
Tringa is among the oldest of genera, having been established by Linnaeus in 
1735. As usual with old Linnaean genera, it has oeen used with great latitude, 
all the species which now compose the section having been included in it. It 
seems, however, to represent a form from which all others are sufficiently dif- 
ferent to require full generic rank. Its synonyms are (fide G. R. Gray) Calidris 
of Cuvier, 1800, (not of 1817, of which the type is T. arenaria , L.,) and Canutus 
of Brehm, 1830. 
North America, possesses but a single representative of the genus as restricted. 
The Tringa Cooperi of Baird, which has been referred to it, seems to fall more 
naturally under Actodromas. Its relationships will be found fully discussed 
under that head. 
Tringa canutus Linnaeus. — Red-breasted Sandpiper. 
Tringa canutus , Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. i. 1766, 251. Latham, Ind. Orn. 1790, ii. 
738. Pennant, Arct. Zool. 1785, ii. 473. Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 1788. Pal- 
las, Zoog. Rosso-As. 1811, ii. 197. Temminck, Man. d’Orn, 1820, ii. 627 
1861 .] 
