308 
SPOTTED SANDPIPER, OR TATLER. 
St. Lawrence, and Labrador. Inland all over the country. Very common. 
Resident in the Southern States. Columbia river. 
Adult Male. 
Bill a little longer than the head, very slender, sub-cylindrical, straight, 
flexible, compressed, the point rather obtuse. Upper mandible with the 
dorsal line straight, the ridge convex, broader at the base, slightly depressed 
towards the end, the sides sloping, towards the end convex, the edges 
sharp, the tip slightly deflected. Nasal groove extending over three-fourths 
of the length of the bill ; nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible 
with the angle very long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line straight, 
the sides grooved at the base, convex towards the end. 
Head small, oblong. Eyes rather large. Neck of moderate length. 
Body rather slender. Feet rather long and slender ; tibia bare nearly half 
its length, scutellate before and behind ; tarsus also scutellate before and 
behind ; hind toe very small and elevated ; fore toes rather long, very 
slender, connected by basal webs, of which the outer is much larger ; 
second toe considerably shorter than fourth ; all flat beneath, and margi- 
nate. Claws small, slightly arched, much compressed, rather sharp, that 
of the middle toe much larger, with the inner edge considerably dilated. 
Plumage very soft, blended, on the fore part of the head very short. 
Wings long, narrow, pointed ; primaries rather narrow and tapering, first 
longest, the rest rapidly graduated ; secondaries short, broad, incurved, 
obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail of moderate 
length, much rounded, of twelve rounded feathers. 
Bill greenish-olive above, yellow beneath, the point of both mandibles 
black. Eye hazel. Feet pale yellowish flesh-colour, claws black. All the 
upper parts shining deep brownish-olive, the head longitudinally streaked, 
the back transversely barred with black. A line from the bill to the eye 
and beyond it white, another beneath it dusky. All the lower parts white, 
marked with numerous brownish-black spots, smaller on the throat, largest 
and roundish on the breast and sides. Axillary feathers pure white, lower 
wing-coverts white, mottled with dusky. Quills brownish-black, glossed 
with green, the elongated inner secondaries like the back ; the primaries 
slightly tipped with white, the secondaries, excepting the inner, more dis- 
tinctly so, the white forming on them a conspicuous band. Four middle 
tail-feathers like the back, with a band of black at the end, the tip white ; 
the next pair on each side similar, with the white tip larger ; the next 
barred with dusky on the outer web ; the lateral feather with the outer 
web white, similarly barred. 
Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 71, to end of claws 8i ; 
