Part 113

Turnstone, Tringa Interpres, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vii. p. 32.

Strepsilas Interpres, Bonap. Syn. p. 299.

Strepsilas Interpres, Turnstone, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 371.

Turnstone or Sea Dotterel, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 30.

Turnstone, Strepsilas Interpres, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 31.

GENUS IV. HÆMATOPUS. OYSTER-CATCHER.

Bill long, slender, straight, or slightly recurvate, higher than broad at the base, extremely compressed toward the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line straight and slightly sloping at the base, somewhat convex beyond the nostrils, then straight and sloping to the point, the ridge broad and flattened as far as the prominence, afterwards extremely narrow, the sides sloping at the base, perpendicular towards the end, the edges rather sharp, the tip abrupt and wedge shaped; nasal groove long, bare; lower mandible with the angle of moderate length, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the sides erect, the edges thin, the tip abrupt and wedged. Nostrils subbasal, linear, near the margin. Head of moderate size, ovate, the forehead rounded; neck of moderate length; body compact. Feet of moderate length, rather stout; tibia bare for about a fourth of its length; tarsus slightly compressed, covered all round with hexagonal scales; toes of moderate length, stout, marginate, flat beneath, webbed at the base, the outer considerably longer than the inner, the first wanting. Claws rather small, arched, moderately compressed, obtuse. Plumage generally blended, on the back compact. Wings long, pointed, the first quill longest. Tail short, nearly even, of twelve feathers. Tongue short, triangular, fleshy; œsophagus dilated into a pretty large crop; stomach oblong, muscular, with the epithelium dense and longitudinally rugous; intestine long and rather slender; cœca long and nearly cylindrical; cloaca globular.

325. 1. Hæmatopus palliatus, Temm. American Oyster-catcher.

Plate CCXXIII. Male.

Bill vermilion, feet very pale flesh-colour; head and neck dull black tinged with bluish-grey; upper parts light greyish-brown, tinged with olive, and faintly glossed with reddish-purple; lower eyelid, edge of wing, tips of secondary coverts, secondary quills except the inner, pure white; as are the lower parts generally, the rump, and basal half of the tail; primaries and terminal part of tail brownish-black.

Male, 18-1/2, 32-1/2, bill 3-5/8. Female, 21, 36.

Breeds from Texas along the coast to New York, again from Maine to Labrador. Returns south in autumn, spending the winter from Maryland to West Florida. Rather common.

Hæmatopus palliatus, Temm. Man. d'Orn. v. ii. p. 532.

Mantled Oyster-catcher, Hæmatopus palliatus, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 15.

American Oyster-catcher, Hæmatopus palliatus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 181; v. v. p. 580.

326. 2. Hæmatopus Bachmanii, Aud. Bachman's Oyster-catcher.

Plate CCCCXXVII. Fig. 1. Male.

Bill vermilion, fading to yellow on the worn parts towards the end; feet white, slightly tinged with flesh-colour; plumage chocolate-brown, darker and tinged with bluish-grey on the head and neck; the under surface of the quills lighter.

Male, 17-1/2, wing 10; bill 2-3/4.

North-west coast, Regent's Sound, and about the mouth of the Columbia River. Rather common. Migratory.

Bachman's Oyster-catcher, Hæmatopus Bachmani, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 245.

327. 3. Hæmatopus Townsendii, Aud. Townsend's Oyster-catcher.

Plate CCCCXXVII. Fig. 2. Female.

Bill vermilion, paler toward the end; feet blood-red; plumage chocolate-brown, darker and tinged with bluish-grey on the head, neck, and breast; under surface of quills light brownish-grey, with the shafts whitish; many of the wing-coverts narrowly tipped with brownish-white.

Female, 20; wing 11; bill 3-2/12.

Coast of California, and along the shores of the North Pacific, southward and northward. Rather common. Migratory.

Townsend's Oyster-catcher, Hæmatopus Townsendi, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 247.

FAMILY XXXVI. SCOLOPACINÆ. SNIPES.