Part 112

Charadrius semipalmatus, Bonap. Syn. p. 296.

American Ring Plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 367.

Semipalmated Ringed Plover, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 21.

American Ringed Plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 256; v. v. p. 579.

322. 7. Charadrius melodus, Ord. Piping Plover.

Plate CCXX. Male and Female.

Bill scarcely half the length of the head, orange, with the end black; upper parts pale brownish-grey, lower part of forehead, sides of the face, and all the lower parts white; a black band across the upper part of the forehead, and a ring of the same on the lower part of the neck, broad on the sides, but narrow above and below, where it is formed merely by the tips of some of the feathers; above this is a white band on the hind neck; primaries dusky; a white band on the wing, narrow on the outer primaries, and enlarging so as to include the whole of some of the inner secondaries; secondary coverts also tipped with white; tail white, all the feathers, except the lateral, dusky toward the end. Young paler, the feathers of the upper parts edged with faint brown and yellowish; the black bands wanting.

Male, 7-1/2, 15-1/2.

From Texas, along the whole coast, to the Magdeleine Islands, Gulf of St Lawrence, breeding everywhere. Common. Great numbers spend the winter from South Carolina to the mouths of the Mississippi.

Ring Plover, Charadrius Hiaticula, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. v. p. 30.

Charadrius melodus, Ord., Bonap. Syn. p. 296.

Piping Ring Plover, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 18.

Piping Plover, Charadrius melodus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 154; v. v. p. 578.

GENUS II. APHRIZA, Aud. SURF-BIRD.

Bill a little shorter than the head, rather stout, compressed, tapering, straightish, being recurvate in a slight degree; upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, and a little declinate as far as the middle, then concave, and towards the end convex, the nasal grooves extending to near the end, the ridge rather broad and flattened, the tip compressed and bluntish; lower mandible with the angle rather long and narrow, the dorsal line ascending, and slightly convex, the sides grooved for half their length, convex toward the end, the tip narrowed, but blunt. Nostrils subbasal, linear, near the margin. Head rather small, ovate, rounded in front; neck of ordinary length; body rather full. Feet of moderate length, rather stout; tibia bare at the lower part, and reticulated; tarsus roundish, with small angular scales all round, those on the fore part larger; toes four, with numerous scutella, the first very small, and placed higher, the anterior toes free to the base, distinctly margined on both edges, flat beneath, the inner considerably shorter than the outer. Claws rather small, curved, compressed, blunted. Plumage full, soft, rather dense, on the neck and lower parts blended. Wings very long, narrow, and pointed; first primary longest, inner secondaries much elongated. Tail rather short, even, of twelve moderately broad feathers. Name from [Greek: Aphros], foam; and [Greek: xaô], to live.

323. 1. Aphriza Townsendii, Aud. Townsend's Surf-Bird.

Plate CCCCXXVIII. Female.

Bill dusky, toward the base orange, feet bluish-green; upper parts blackish-grey; quills greyish-black; a broad band of white on the wing, occupying the tips of the primary coverts; the terminal third of the secondary coverts, the bases, and more or less of the margins and tips of the quills, several of the inner secondaries having only a streak of dusky on the inner web; shafts of quills also white, as are some of the feathers of the rump, the upper tail-coverts, and the basal half of the tail, of which the rest is black, the feathers narrowly edged with white at the end; throat greyish-white; cheeks, sides, and fore part of neck, and anterior part of breast, dull grey, of a lighter tint than the back; the rest of the lower parts white, with small longitudinal oblong dark grey streaks; axillaries and lower wing-coverts white.

Female, 11; wing, 7-1/2.

Cape Disappointment, Columbia River.

Townsend's Surf-Bird, Aphriza Townsendi, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 249.

GENUS III. STREPSILAS, Illiger. TURNSTONE.

Bill a little shorter than the head, rather stout, compressed, tapering, straightish, being recurvate in a slight degree; upper mandible with the dorsal line very slightly concave, the nasal groove extending to the middle, the sides beyond it sloping, the tip depressed and blunted; lower mandible with the angle short, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip depressed and blunted. Nostrils subbasal, linear-oblong, pervious. Head rather small, ovate; neck of ordinary length; body rather full. Feet of moderate length, rather stout; tibia bare at the lower part, and covered with reticulated scales; tarsus roundish, with numerous broad anterior scutella; toes four, the first very small and elevated, anterior toes free to the base, distinctly margined, the inner a little shorter than the outer. Claws rather small, arched, compressed, blunted. Plumage full, soft, rather dense, and glossy. Wings long, pointed, of moderate breadth, first quill longest, inner secondaries elongated. Tail rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve moderately broad feathers.

324. 1. Strepsilas Interpres, Linn. Turnstone.

Plate CCCIV. Summer and winter plumage.

Adult in summer with the bill black, feet deep orange; plumage varied with white, black, brown, and red; upper parts of the head and nape streaked with black and reddish-white; a broad band of white crossing the forehead, passing over the eyes, and down the sides of the neck, the hind part of which is reddish-white, faintly mottled with dusky; a frontal band of black curving downwards before the eye, enclosing a white patch on the lore, and meeting another black band glossed with blue, which proceeds down the neck, from the base of the lower mandible, enlarging behind the ear, covering the whole anterior part of the neck, and passing along the shoulders over the scapulars; the throat, hind part of the back, outer scapulars, upper tail-coverts, and under parts of body and wings, white; anterior smaller, wing-coverts dusky, the rest bright chestnut or brownish-orange, as are the outer webs of the inner tertiaries; alula, primary coverts, outer secondary coverts and quills blackish-brown, the inner webs becoming white towards the base; a broad band of white across the wing, including the bases of the primary quills, excepting the outer four, and the ends of the secondary coverts; shafts of primaries white; tail white, with a broad blackish-brown band towards the end, broader in the middle, the tips white; a dusky band crossing the rump. In winter, the throat, lower parts, middle of the back, upper tail-coverts, and band across the wing, white, as in summer; tail and quills also similarly coloured, but the inner secondaries destitute of red, of which there are no traces on the upper parts, they being of a dark greyish-brown colours, tipped or margined with paler; outer edges of outer scapulars, and some of the smaller wing-coverts, white; on the sides and fore part of the neck, the feathers blackish.

Male, 9, 18-3/4.

Not uncommon along the shores of the Southern States during winter, though the greater number remove much farther south. Breeds in high northern latitudes, Hudson's Bay, and shores of Arctic Seas. Never in the interior.