Part 9

=247. Western Sandpiper= (_Ereunetes occidentalis_). Similar to preceding but bill longer .8 to 1.2; ads. more rusty above, breast streaks more distinct, and more numerous. _Notes._ Call, a soft _weet-weet_; song, uttered on the wing, "a rapid, uniform series of rather musical trills." (Nelson.)

Range.--North America, chiefly west of Mississippi Valley; breeds in Arctic regions; winters from Gulf States to South America.

=248. Sanderling= (_Calidris arenaria_). L. 8. Three toes, tarsus scaled. _Ads._ Above rusty, black and grayish; below white, breast spotted with black and _washed with rusty_. _Yng._ Nape grayish, back _black_, feathers with _two_ white or yellowish white terminal spots; below silky white. _Winter._ Above brownish gray with dusky shaft streaks; below silky white.

Range.--"Nearly cosmopolitan, breeding in Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions, migrating, in America, south to Chili and Patagonia." (A.O.U.)

=238. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper= (_Actodromas acuminata_). L. 8.7. _Tail feathers pointed._ _Ads._ A white line over eye; breast buff streaked with blackish. _Yng._ Crown as in ad., back black and rusty; below white, breast buffy, no streaks. _Winter._ Back grayish brown streaked with blackish; below as in yng., but breast grayer and with indistinct streaks. _Notes._ A soft metallic _pleep-pleep_. (Nelson.)

Range.--"Eastern Asia, and coast of Alaska, migrating south to Java and Australia." (A.O.U.)

=239. Pectoral Sandpiper= (_Actodromas maculata_). L. 9. _Ads._ Middle tail-feathers longest, pointed, blackish margined with rusty; above black and rusty; below white, breast thickly streaked; upper tail-coverts _black_. _Yng. and in winter_ much the same. _Notes._ Call, a grating whistle; song, a hollow, resonant, musical _tōō-ū_, repeated eight times, made after filling æsophagus with air until it is puffed out to size of the body. (Nelson.)

Range.--North America; breeds in Arctic regions; winters south of United States to South America; rare on Pacific coast.

=240. White-rumped Sandpiper= (_Actodromas fuscicollis_). L. 7.5. Longer upper tail-coverts _white_. _Ads._ Breast white, _distinctly spotted_ or streaked. _Yng._ More rufous above; breast less distinctly streaked. _Winter._ Brownish gray above; similar to yng. below.

Range.--Eastern North America; breeds in the interior north of Hudson Bay; winters south of United States to southern South America; rare on Pacific coast.

=241. Baird Sandpiper= (_Actodromas bairdii_). L. 7.5. No rusty in plumage. _Ads._ Longest upper tail-coverts _blackish_; breast buffy, _faintly_ streaked. _Yng._ Similar, but back _conspicuously_ margined with whitish. _Winter._ Above "buffy grayish brown," no white margins.

Range.--Interior of North America; breeds in the Arctic regions and winters south of United States to southern South America.

=242. Least Sandpiper= (_Actodromas minutilla_). L. 6. Smartest of our Sandpipers. _Ads._ Above black, buff and rufous; below white breast lightly streaked. _Yng._ Similar, but breast less distinctly streaked. _Winter._ Above brownish gray, often streaked with black, below white. _Notes._ _Peep-peep._

Range.--North America; breeds from Sable Island and Magdalens northward; winters from Gulf States and California south to South America.

=249. Marbled Godwit= (_Limosa fedoa_). L. 18; B. 4; slightly recurved. Tail barred, cinnamon and black; under wing-coverts cinnamon with more or less fine black markings. _Ads._ Above black and ochraceous; below buffy white finely and uniformly barred with black. _Yng._ Similar, but with no or with but few bars below.

Range.--North America; breeds in the interior from western Minnesota, rarely Iowa and Nebraska northward; winters south of United States to Central America and West Indies.

=250. Pacific Godwit= (_Limosa lapponica baueri_). L. 16. B. 3.7, slightly recurved, tail barred black and white; under wing-coverts black and white. _Ads._ "Head, neck and lower parts, plain cinnamon color." (Ridgw.) _Winter._ Above black, grayish and rusty, former prevailing; below white; throat streaked, elsewhere with irregular, black bars. _Notes._ "A loud ringing _kû-we'w_, repeated."

Range.--"Shores and Islands of the Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand and Australia to Kamchatka and Alaska. On the American coast recorded south of Alaska only from La Paz, Lower California." (A.O.U.)

=251. Hudsonian Godwit= (_Limosa hæmastica_). L. 15; B. 3.2, slightly recurved. Under wing-coverts dusky; upper tail-coverts black and white; tail black at end, white at base. _Ads._ Above black, rusty and grayish, below chestnut-red barred with blackish and faintly tipped with white. _Yng._ Similar, but below buffy whitish, breast grayer. _Winter._ Similar below but above brownish gray.

Range.--Eastern North America chiefly interior; breeds in Arctic Regions; winters south of United States to South America.

=270. Black-bellied Plover= (_Squatarola squatarola_). L. 11. Hind-toe present, small. _Ads._ Above black and white, no yellowish; below black. _Yng._ Above grayish brown spotted with white and some yellowish; below white. _Winter._ Similar to preceding but nearly uniform brownish above.

Range.--Northern Hemisphere; breeds in Arctic Regions, winters in America from Florida to Brazil.

=272. American Golden Plover= (_Charadrius dominicus_). L. 10.5; W. 7. No hind-toe; axillars dusky. _Ads._ Above conspicuously spotted with yellow; below black, sides of breast white. _Yng._ Duller above, below grayish white with dusky marks and yellowish wash. _Winter._ Similar but no yellow below. _Notes._ Call, a plaintive _too-lee-e_; song, a marvelously harmonious succession of notes. (Nelson.)

Range.--Western Hemisphere; breeds in Arctic Regions; winters from Florida to Patagonia, rare on Pacific coast.

=272a. Pacific Golden Plover= (_C. d. fulvus_). Similar to No. 272 but wing shorter, 6.5; yellow richer.

Range.--"Breeding from northern Asia to the Pribilof Islands and coast of Alaska, south in winter through China and India to Australia and Polynesia." (A.O.U.)

=254. Greater Yellow-legs= (_Totanus melanoleucus_). L. 14; B. 2.2. No rusty; upper tail-coverts mostly white; tail barred with black and white or gray. _Ads._ Above black margined with whitish; below white and black. _Yng._ Above grayish margined with whitish; below white, breast lightly streaked. _Winter._ Similar but white margins less conspicuous. _Notes._ A whistled _wheu_, _wheu-wheu-wheu-wheu-wheu-wheu_, _wheu-wheu_.

Range.--North America; breeds from Minnesota, rarely northern Illinois, and Anticosti northward; winters from Gulf States and California to southern South America.

=255. Yellow-legs= (_Totanus flavipes_). L. 10.7; B. 1.4. Similar in color to preceding but smaller in size.

Range.--North America; breeds rarely in upper Mississippi Valley but chiefly north of latitude 55°; winters from Gulf States to southern South America; rare on Pacific coast.

=258. Willet= (_Symphemia semipalmata_). L. 15; W. 8; B. 2.1. Primaries black with a broad white band; upper tail-coverts mostly white. _Ads._ Above brownish gray, black, and a little buff; below white heavily marked with black and slightly washed with buff. _Yng._ Above brownish gray margined with buffy; below white, breast lightly streaked with dusky. _Winter._ Similar, but above plain brownish gray. _Notes._ Song, _pilly-will-willet_, repeated.

Range.--Eastern North America; breeds from Florida to southern New Jersey, later strays casually to Maine; winters from Gulf States to South America.

=258a. Western Willet= (_S. s. inornata_). Similar to No. 258 but slightly larger. W. 8.5; B. 2.4. In summer above paler, less heavily marked with black both above and below. _Yng. and Winter._ Indistinguishable in color from No. 258.

Range.--Western United States; breeds from Texas to Manitoba; winters from southern California and Gulf States southward. A rare migrant on Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Florida.

=259. Wandering Tatler= (_Heteractitis incanus_). L. 11. Tail-coverts plain slaty gray. _Ads._ Above plain slaty gray; below white barred with slaty gray. _Yng._ Above slaty gray more or less margined with whitish; breast and sides slaty gray; throat and belly white. _Winter._ Similar, but no white margins above.

Range.--Pacific coast; breeds from British Columbia northward; winters south to Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos.

=282. Surf Bird= (_Aphriza virgata_). L. 10; B. 1. Upper tail-coverts and base of tail-feathers white. _Ads._ Above black, slaty, and rusty. _Yng._ Above slaty margined with whitish; breast barred slaty and whitish; belly white spotted with slaty. _Winter._ The same, but no whitish margins.

Range.--"Pacific coast of America, from Alaska to Chili." (A.O.U.)

=273. Killdeer= (_Oxyechus vociferus_). L. 10.5. Rump and upper tail-coverts rusty. _Ads._ Above grayish brown and rusty; below white with _two_ black rings. _Notes._ A noisy _kildeē_, _kildeē_.

Range.--North America, north to Newfoundland, Manitoba and British Columbia; (rare on North Atlantic coast); breeds locally throughout its range; winters from Virginia, Lower Mississippi Valley and California south to South America.

=274. Semipalmated Plover= (_Ægialitis semipalmata_). L. 6.7. Web between bases of inner and middle toes. _Ads._ _One_ black ring around neck; a white ring in front of it. _Yng._ Similar, but black parts brownish; back margined with whitish. _Winter._ Same as last but no whitish margins.

Range.--Breeds from Labrador northward; winters from Gulf States to Brazil.

=275. Ring Plover= (_Ægialitis hiaticula_). L. 7.5. No webs between toes. Similar to 274 but larger, bill yellow at base, black or brown bands wider.

Range.--"Northern parts of Old World and portions of Arctic America, breeding on the west shore of Cumberland Gulf." (A.O.U.)

=277. Piping Plover= (_Ægialitis meloda_). L. 7; B. short, .5. Very pale above. _Ads._ Above ashy, crown and _sides_ of breast black; no rusty. _Yng._ Similar, but black replaced by ashy gray. _Notes._ A short plaintive, _piping_ whistle, repeated.

Range.--Eastern North America; breeds from Virginia to Newfoundland; winters from Florida southward.

=277a. Belted Piping Plover= (_Æ. m. circumcincta_). Similar to No. 277 but black on sides of breast meeting to form a breast band.

Range.--Mississippi Valley; breeds from northern Illinois and Nebraska north to Lake Winnipeg, east to Magdalen and Sable Islands; winters from Gulf southward; casual migrant on Atlantic coast.

=278. Snowy Plover= (_Ægialitis nivosa_). L. 6.5. No complete ring. _Ads._ Black on crown; ear-coverts and sides of breast black. _Yng._ The same, but no black; above margined with whitish. _Winter._ Same as last but no whitish margins.

Range.--Western United States east to Texas and Kansas; breeds from Indian Territory and southern California northward; winters from Texas and southern California southward.

=280. Wilson Plover= (_Ochthodromus wilsonius_). L. 7.5; B. .8. No black on hindneck. _Ad._ [Male]. One black breast-and crown-band; some rusty about head. _Ad._ [Female]. Similar but black areas brownish gray. _Yng._ Same as last, but above margined with whitish. _Winter._ No whitish margins.

Range.--Tropical and temperate America; breeds north to Virginia, Gulf States, and Lower California; winters southward to Brazil; casual north to Nova Scotia.

Order X. GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, BOB-WHITES, ETC.

GALLINÆ.

Family 1. GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, etc. Tetraonidæ. 21 species, 22 subspecies.

Family 2. TURKEYS, PHEASANTS, etc. Phasianidæ. 1 species. 3 subspecies.

Family 3. CURASSOWS and GUANS. Cracidæ. 1 species.

The members of the family Tetraonidæ are usually placed in three subfamilies as follows: (1.) Perdicinæ, containing the true Quails and Partridges of the Old World and with no species in America. (2.) Odontophorinæ, including the Bob-whites and so-called 'Quails' and 'Partridges' of the New World, and with no species in the eastern hemisphere. (3.) Tetraoninæ, the Grouse, with representatives in the northern parts of both hemispheres. All the members of the first two families have the legs bare, while the Grouse have the legs, and often even the toes, more or less feathered.

The application of different names to the members of this family, in various parts of the country, often make it uncertain just what species is referred to under a given title. Our Bob-white, for example, is a 'Quail' at the north and a 'Partridge' at the south. As a matter of fact it is, strictly speaking, neither a true Quail nor Partridge but a member of a family restricted to America.

Again, the Ruffed Grouse is a 'Partridge' at the north and a 'Pheasant' at the south, whereas in truth it is neither one nor the other. So far as the application of these local names goes, it is to be noted that where the Bob-white is called 'Quail' the Grouse is called 'Partridge' and that where it is called 'Partridge' the Grouse is known as 'Pheasant'.

All the Tetraonidæ are ground-inhabiting birds, and their plumage of blended browns, buffs and grays brings them into such close harmony with their surroundings that, as a rule, we are unaware of the presence of one of these birds until, with a whirring of short, stiff, rounded wings it springs from the ground at our feet. It is this habit of 'lying close,' as sportsmen term it, in connection with their excellent flesh, which makes the members of this family the favorites of the hunter and epicure and only the most stringent protective measures will prevent their extinction as their haunts become settled.

With the Ptarmigan this harmony in color is carried to a remarkable extreme, the birds being white in winter and brown, buff and black in summer; while during the early fall they assume a grayish, neutral tinted plumage to bridge over the period from the end of the nesting season, in July, to the coming of the snow in September.

The Tetraonidæ all nest on the ground, laying usually from ten to twenty eggs. The young, like those of their relative, the domestic fowl, are born covered with downy feathers and can run about shortly after birth.

The Turkey is the only wild member of the Phasianidæ in this country, but the family is well-represented in the domesticated Chickens, Peacocks, and Pheasants, all of which have descended from Old World ancestors. Our domesticated Turkey is derived from the Wild Turkey of Mexico, which was introduced into Europe shortly after the Conquest and was thence brought to eastern North America. It differs from the Wild Turkey of the eastern United States chiefly in the color of the tips of the upper tail-coverts. These are whitish in the domesticated Turkey, as they are in the Mexican race from which, it has descended, and rusty brown in the Eastern Wild Turkey.

Besides the five races of Wild Turkey described beyond, another species of Turkey is found in America. This is the Honduras or Yucatan Turkey, now largely confined to the peninsula of Yucatan. It is not so large as our bird, but is even more beautifully colored, its plumage being a harmonious combination of blue, gray and copper.

Ring-necked and 'English' Pheasants have been introduced into various parts of the United States, and in Oregon and Washington and in the east, on various private game preserves, they have become naturalized. The true English Pheasant (_Phasianus colchicus_) is believed to have been introduced into England from Asia Minor probably by the Romans. Unlike the Ring-necked Pheasant (_Phasianus torquatus_) it has no white collar. The last named species, however, has also been introduced into England where it freely interbreeds with the earlier established English Pheasant and individuals without at least a trace of white on the neck are now comparatively rare.

The Curassows and Guans are tropical American birds, only one species reaching the southern border of the United States. They are arboreal in habit and form an interesting link between the Partridges, etc. and the Pigeons.

Bob-white and Partridge

=289. Bob-white; 'Quail;' 'Partridge'= (_Colinus virginianus_). L. 10. _Ad._ [Male]. Throat, forehead and line over eye white. _Ad._ [Female]. Throat, forehead and line over eye buff. _Notes._ Song, a ringing, whistled _Bob-white_ or _buck-wheat-ripe_; calls, a conversational _quit-quit_ and a whistled _where-are-you_ and _I'm here_, repeatedly uttered when the individuals of a flock are separated.

Range.--Eastern North America, resident from southern Dakota, southern Minnesota, southern Ontario, southern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, south to Georgia and western Florida; west to South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. "Introduced at various points in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, California and Washington." (A.O.U.)

=289a. Florida Bob-white= (_C. v. floridanus_). Similar to No. 289, but smaller, L. 8.5, and much darker; black bars below more numerous.

_Range.--Florida; typical only in southern half of peninsula, grading into No. 289 in northern and western parts of the state._

=289b. Texan Bob-white= (_C. v. texanus_). Similar to No. 289, but brown and buff areas paler; black bars below wider.

Range.--Texas, except western part, rarely to western Kansas, south to Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, Mexico.

=291. Masked Bob-white= (_Colinus ridgwayi_). L. 9. _Ad._ [Male]. Throat black; breast and belly reddish brown. _Ad._ [Female]. Resembles [Female] of No. 289b. _Notes._ Song, _Bob-white_; call, when the birds are scattered, _hoo-we_. (H. Brown.)

Range.--Northern Sonora, Mexico, north to Pima County, Arizona.

=296. Mearns Partridge= (_Cyrtonyx montezumæ mearnsi_). L. 9. _Ad._ [Male]. Sides with numerous, large, crowded white spots. _Ad._ [Female]. _Pinkish brown_, above _streaked_ with buffy and marked with chestnut and black, below with a few broken black bars. _Notes._ A low, murmuring whine; a clear _dsiup-chiur_, when alarmed, _chuk-chuk-chuk_. (Bendire.)

Range.--Northern Mexico, western Texas, southern New Mexico and southern Arizona.

Partridges

=292. Mountain Partridge= (_Oreortyx pictus_). L. 11. _Ads._ _Hindhead_ and _nape_ same color as back; inner margins of tertials buff. _Notes._ Song, an explosive whistle ending in a throaty tone; call, a rapidly repeated _cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh_, and a sharp _pit-pit_.

Range.--Pacific coast from Santa Barbara, California, north to southern Washington.

=292a. Plumed Partridge= (_O. p. plumiferus_). Hindhead, nape, and foreback same _color as breast_; inner margins of tertials _white_.

Range.--Sierra Nevada (both slopes), east to Panamint Mountains; and to Mount Magruder, Nevada; south in the coast ranges from San Francisco Bay to Lower California (Campos). (A.O.U.)

=292b. San Pedro Partridge= (_O. p. confinis_). Similar to No. 292a, but upperparts much grayer, the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts being gray very slightly tinged with olive; bill stouter. (Ridgway.)

Range.--San Pedro Martir Mountains, Lower California.

=293. Scaled Partridge= (_Callipepla squamata_). L. 10. _Ads._ Belly _without_ chestnut patch; breast and foreback grayish blue edged with black; back brownish gray. _Notes._ A nasal _pe-cos' pe-cos'_ (Bailey.)

Range.--"Tableland of Mexico, from the Valley of Mexico, north to central and western Texas, Santa Fe, New Mexico and southern Arizona." (A.O.U.)

=293a. Chestnut-bellied Scaled Partridge= (_C. s. castanogastris_). Similar to No. 293, but [Male] with chestnut patch on belly; [Female] with belly much rustier than in [Female] of No. 293.

Range.--Lower Rio Grande Valley, northwest to Eagle Pass, Texas; south into northeastern Mexico.

=294. California Partridge= (_Lophortyx californica_). L. 10. _Ad._ [Male]. Above _olive-brown_; belly patch chestnut. _Ad._ [Female]. Plumes shorter; throat whitish streaked with dusky; no distinct chestnut patch on belly. _Notes._ Song, a pheasant like crow and a crowing, emphatic _sit-right-down'_, _sit-right-down'_; calls, a sharp _pit-pit pit_, and a note like that of a young Robin.

Range.--"Coast region of California south to Monterey, introduced in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia." (A.O.U.)

=294a. Valley Partridge= (_L. c. vallicola_). Similar to No. 294, but much grayer above; sometimes plain bluish gray without brown tinge.

Range.--"From western and southern Oregon, except near the coast, south through western Nevada and the interior of California to Cape St. Lucas." (Bendire.)

=295. Gambel Partridge= (_Lophortyx gambelii_). L. 10. _Ad._ [Male]. Throat, forehead and belly patch _black_; hindhead chestnut. _Ad._ [Female]. Similar, but throat grayish buff; forehead gray; no black on belly; hind head brownish; crest smaller. _Notes._ Song, _yuk-käe-ja._

Range.--"Western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah, southern Nevada, southern California in the Colorado Valley and south into northwestern Mexico." (A.O.U.)

297. Dusky Grouse (_Dendragapus obscurus_). L. [Male], 20. [Female], 18. _Ad._ [Male]. Gray tail-band _over_ one inch wide on middle feather; below grayish slate; above blackish with fine rusty and grayish markings. _Ad._ [Female]. With more white below; foreback regularly _barred_ with buffy; middle tail-feathers irregularly barred with buff or grayish; terminal gray band finely marked with black. _Notes._ A loud, ventriloquial, hooting or booming.

Range.--"Rocky Mountains, from central Montana and southeastern Idaho to New Mexico and Arizona; east to the Black Hills, South Dakota and west to East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada." (A.O.U.)

=297a. Sooty Grouse= (_D. o. fuliginosus_). Similar to No. 297, but slightly darker, gray band on central tail feather _less_ than one inch wide.

Range.--"Northwest Coast Mountains, from California to Sitka, east to Nevada, western Idaho and portions of British Columbia." (A.O.U.)

=297b. Richardson Grouse= (_D. o. richardsonii_). Similar to No. 297a, but _no_ tail band, or, if showing indistinctly from above, not visible from below.

Range.--"Rocky Mountains, especially on the eastern slopes, from central Montana, northern Wyoming and southeastern Idaho, into British America to Liard River." (A.O.U.)

=298. Hudsonian Spruce Grouse= (_Canachites canadensis_). L. 15. _Ad._ [Male]. Tail-feathers tipped with brown; foreback margined with _bluish gray_. _Ad._ [Female]. Above, bases of feathers more or less barred with rusty especially on foreback; throat and breast barred with rusty and black; belly as in male. _Notes._ A drumming sound produced by the beating of the wings. (Bendire.)

Range.--Labrador and Hudson Bay region.

=298b. Alaska Spruce Grouse= (_C. c. osgoodi_). _Ad._ [Male]. Similar to _Ad._ [Male]. of No. 298c, but margins to feathers of foreback _brownish ashy_. _Ad._ [Female]. Similar to _Ad._ [Female] of No. 298c, but paler, barred with buff instead of rusty.

Range.--Alaska.

=298c. Canada Grouse= (_C. c. canace_). _Ad._ [Male]. Similar to _Ad._ [Male]. of No. 298. _Ad._ [Female]. Similar to _Ad._ [Female] of No. 298, but above more rusty, rusty bars deeper and more conspicuous, showing throughout upper surface and on flanks.