UPLAND SHOOTING. 
Ill 
Common in autumn and spring along the middle Atlantic dis¬ 
tricts. Abundant in the Southern and Western States in winter. 
° Adult male. 
“ Bill about the length of the head, higher than broad at the 
base, depressed and widened toward the end, rounded at the 
tip. Upper mandible with the dorsal line sloping and a little 
concave, the ridge at the base broad and flat, toward the end 
broadly convex, as are the sides; the edges soft and thin, the 
marginal lamellae about forty on each side. The unguis obovate, 
curved, abrupt at the end. Nasal groove sub-basal, elliptical, 
filled with the soft membrane of the bill; nostrils sub-basal, 
placed near the ridge, longitudinal, elliptical, pervious. Lower 
mandible slightly curved upward, flattened, with the angle very 
long, narrow, and rather pointed ; the lamellae about sixty. 
“ Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather 
long and slender. Body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, 
placed a little behind the centre of the body. Legs bare a little 
above the joint. Tarsus short, a little compressed, anteriorly 
with small scutella, externally of which is a series continuous 
with those of the outer toe, laterally and behind with reticulated 
angular scales. Hind toe extremely small, with a very narrow 
membrane ; third toe longest, fourth a little shorter, but longer 
than the second; the scutella of the second and third oblique, 
of the outer transverse ; the three anterior toes connected by 
reticulated membranes, the outer with a thick margin, the inner 
with a margin extended into a slightly lobed web. Claws small 
arched, compressed, rather obtuse, that of the middle toe much 
larger, with a dilated thin edge. 
u Plumage dense, soft, elastic ; on the neck and head the fea¬ 
thers linear-oblong, on the other parts, broad and rounded. 
Wings of moderate breadth and length, acute ; primaries narrow 
and tapering, the second longest, the first very little shorter ; 
secondaries broad, curved inward ; the inner elongated and taper¬ 
ing. Tail short, much rounded, of eighteen acute feathers, none 
of which are recurved. 
u Bill yellowish-green, the unguis dusky. Iris dark brown. 
10 
VOL. I. 
