by an arched bill, and Calidris, by a short, straight one, and both 
three-toed, all our Tringse are tetradactyle, having the short hind 
toe. With the exception of my subgenus Hemipalama, whose cha¬ 
racter is to have the fore toes all connected at base by a membrane, 
and of Machetes, which has only the outer ones connected, all the 
Tringse have the feet cleft to the base. Of the species that remain 
after the separation of these four well marked groups, and which 
are still the most numerous, we form our subgenus T/inga. W e 
must not however pass by unnoticed the Eurynorhyncus of Nilsson, 
a group so important as perhaps to merit generic distinction : 
it is the Platalea pygmsea of Linne, of which a single specimen 
of uncertain nativity is known.* In this, by an extreme develop¬ 
ment of the Tringa character, the bill is remarkably flattened and 
widened at tip, somewhat in the manner of the Spoonbill. 
In the Sandpipers the female is similar to the male, being only 
somewhat larger. The young differ from the adult, and they 
moult twice a year, changing greatly the colours of their plumage. 
These are a mixture of white and cinereous, changing in summer 
to rufous and black. 
The Sandpipers are maritime birds that live in flocks, often¬ 
times composed of different species, on sandy beaches or muddy 
shores, preferring mostly salt water. They migrate with the 
changes of the seasons along coasts and rivers, and are seldom 
seen in the temperate climates of North America and Europe, 
except during autumn, winter, and more especially in spring, when 
they are the most numerous. They retire to the north to breed, 
which they do socially among the grass near the water, but never 
in our climates. They feed on insects, mollusca, and othei small 
animals, which they seek in soft ground by thrusting in their 
flexible bill, or among the rejectamenta of the sea. They run 
* See Thunberg, Av. Sv. Holm. 1816, p. 194, tab. vi. 
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