History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

Teinga. BIRDS. PRESSIROSTRES. 109Linn. Syst.i. 232 Little Sandpiper, Mont. Orn. Diet. App—T. Temminckii,Tern. Orn. ii. 622".—A rare winter visitant.Length 6 inches; weight 6 drams. Bill fths of an inch long, slender,slightly deflected towards the extremity, and, with the feet, brown. Iridesdusky. Plumage, above, black with red margins; below, cinereous red withblack streaks, the throat, belly, and under tail-covers, white. Quills dusky,margined with white. Tail of twelve feathers, the two middle dusky, thenext on each side cinereous, with reddish margins the two or three exterior;feathers pure white. In winter the plumage above is brownish, with darkerstreaks. The young are more inclined to cinereous above—This species,which is well described by Montagu, from a specimen shot in November on asalt-marsh, near the sea in Devonshire, has probably been confounded withthe preceding. The character of the tail identifies it with the Linnean species,and renders unnecessary the new trivial name which Leister proposed,and which Temminck has too hastily adopted.155. T. minuta.— Tail doubly forked,the lateral feathersgreyish brown, with white margins.Little Sandpiper, Penn. Brit. Zool. ii. 473—Little Stint, Bewick's Brit.Birds, ii. 122 Little Sandpiper, Mont. Orn. Diet. Supp. Temm. Orn.ii. 624 A rare winter visitant.that M. Temminck as-Size the same as the preceding, with this difference,signs 8 lines as the length of the tarsus of the pusilla, and 10 to the minuta. Billand legsblack. The crown black, with red spots. Plumage, above, black witlired margins ; below, the sides of the neck and breast are red, with angularbrown spots ;the middle of the breast, throat, belly and lateral upper tailcoverswhite. The rump and two middle tail-feathers black, the lateral onesgreyish-brown with white margins. In winter the plumage above is cinereous,with brownish-black streaks at the shafts ; the two middle tail-feathersbrown. The young nearly resemble the winter garb of the old birds. Themargins of the scapulars and wing-covers incline more to white. An examinationof the descriptions of the British writers, quoted above, seems topoint out, very obviously, their connection with this species of Temminck, towhich they are here referred. They all agree nearly in size, and in the colourof the rump and tail ;characters which mark the distinction between thisspecies and the pusilla. In all, however, the form of the tail is not mentioned,which is said to be doubly forked, or to have the middle and external feathersof the same length, the intermediate ones on each side shorter.156. T. Canutus. Knot.— Bill straight,much enlarged atthe end ;the tail-feathers of equal length, cinereous with awhite margin.Knot, Will. Orn. 224 T. Can. (Calidris and Islandica), Linn. Syst. ii.251-2. and App—Bed Sandpiper (T. Islandica), Ash-coloured Sandpiper(T. cinerea), Aberdeen Sandpiper, and Knot, Penn. Brit. Zool.ii.469, 462, and 461 T. cinerea, Temm. Orn. ii. 627—A winter visitant.Length 10, breadth 19 inches ; weight 5 oz. Bill 1J inches in length, greenishblack ;the feet of the same colour. The hind toe, according to CaptainSabine (App. Parry's 1st Voy. cci.) turns inwards, as in that of the turnstone.Irides brown. Plumage, above, black, bordered with red, with oval spots of thesame colour on the scapulars ;below brownish red, the belly white, with redand black spots. Quills dusky, edged with white. Tail-feathers dusky ash,edged with white the ; upper covers white, with black bars and red spots.Willoughby states, that the outer tail-feathers are white. In winter theplumage above is cinereous, with brown streaks, and below white, with duskystreaks on the breasts and sides. In the young there is more cinereous above