18 
BRITISH BIRDS* 
THE PIGMY SANDPIPER, 
OR PIGMY CURLEW. 
(Tringa Pygmcea,) 
This rare bird has been hitherto described under 
the name of the “ Pigmy Curlew,’’ and was not re- 
moved from the place it held amongst the Curlews, 
until that indefatigable ornithologist, the late CoL 
Montagu cleared up the doubts respecting it, and re- 
moved it to the Tringas. The bill is black, slender, 
and slightly curved downwards ; it is grooved on both 
mandibles, and measures two inches and one-eighth 
from the tip to the brow ; the feathers on the crown of 
the head and nape are deep brown, with rusty tips and 
edges ; a whitish streak, . faintly spotted, passes from 
the bill over each eye, and a brown one extends in the 
same way underneath them ; the throat is dull white ; 
