down the outside of the interscapulars ; there is a similar stripe on the outer border of the
scapulars, and a tinge of the same colour on the throat. A spot before the eye, the sides of
the rump, tips of the lateral tail feathers, also stripes on their shafts and mottling on their
inner webs, the borders of the upper tail coverts, the chin, atiA under plumage, pure white.
A velvet-black band commences on the lores, includes the eye, and runs half way down the
neck, becoming broader after passing the ears. Bill and legs brownish-black.
F orm.__Bill much5 resembling that of a Tatler. ( T otdnus cU oropygius)', but rather more
slender, the height at the base less, and ridge depressed throughout; it is quite straight, and
nearly of equal breadth to the tip of the upper mandible, which is bent down. Nasal grooves
nearly obsolete, and close to the commissure. Head narrow; forehead lengthened,: ; Eyes
near the crown. . Neck rather long. Wings equal to the tail', which consists of twelve feathers,
and has a double but very shallow emargination; the exterior and middle feathers
equal. Tarsus rather stout ; compressed and two-edged as in the Sea-ducks ; fore toes
bordered by narrow membranes, that are very slightly or not at all contracted at the joints^;
and connected by short webs: the outer web, which is the longest, including only one joint
of the outer toe. Nails moderately curved, acute, and excavated beneath. ■ '
Dimensions.
Inch. Lin. - . r — ’ Inch*Length, total 10 -Ciin' . . . .I?chV 6 ‘ LehgtVofbill to rictus . 1 Length of middle nail . 0 2
r of tail : • 2 6 „ of rfaked thigh . 0 7 | »* of hind toe . . 0 4
” * of wing . . 5 4 „ oftarsns . . 1 5 „ of hind nail . 0 1
” of bill above . 1 4 ‘„ of middle toe. . 1 0 ',y of outer web . . 0 3
Other specimens are nearly an inch shorter than the above.—R.
[172.] 2. P h a l a r o p u s h y p e r b o r e u s . (I.atli.) Hyperborean Phalarope.
Ge n u s , Phalaropus, La t h .
Coot-footed Tringa. E dw., pi. 143 ; and pi. 46, yoilng.
Phalaropus hyperboreus et fuscus. L a th . Ind., ii., pp. 774, 775; sp. 1 and 4.
Phalarope a hausse-col (Lobipeshyperboreus);,, Cuv. Reg. An., i., p. 533.
Phalarope hyperbore ( Phalaropus hyperboreus). Temm., ii., p. 700.
Phalaropus hyperboreus (Red Phalerope). Sab. Frankl. Joum., p. 690.
Accummee-sheeshick. Ck e e I n d ia n s.
This Phalerope breeds on all the Arctic coasts of America, and resorts to the
shores of Hudson’s Bay in the autumn. It was first made known by Edwards,
who figured specimens from thence. It frequents shady ponds, in which it swims
with ease and elegance, its attitudes much resembling those of the common
Teal; and, like that bird, it is continually dipping its bill into the water, picking
up the small insects which constitute its food. Its eggs, two or three in number,
have an olive-yellow colour, and are closely spotted with blackish-brown.
DESCRIPTION
Of a female', killed at Great Bear Lake, June 7» 1826.
C olour.—Sides and front of the neck bright brownish-orange; medial stripe on the latter,
the sides of the breast, top and sides of the head, the nape, and fore part of the back, greyish-
black ; rest of the upper plumage blackish-brown, the scapulars and interscapulars striped
exteriorly with yellowish-brown; the lateral tail feathers'clove-brown ; their shafts and edges,
several bars on their lateral coverts, a band on the ends of the greater wing coverts and edges
of the tertiaries, the shafts, of the greater quills, fringe of the intermediate coverts, the chin,
throat, and rest of the under plumage, pure white, blotched with black beneath the wings..
Bill black. Legs blackish-green.—A specimen, killed at Hudson’s Bay,, on the 28th August,
and therefpre after its summer moult, has the throat and lores brownish-white; the breast
blackish, mottled with white ; the anterior dorsal plumage, scapulars, and tertiaries, broadly
bordered- with wax-yellow ; the tail tinged with rust colour, and the belly clouded with a pale
brown tint.
F orm.—Bill shorter than that of Ph. Wilsonii, and rather more awl-shaped, but otherwise
very-similar. Its ridge is somewhat less depressed, and the nasal grooves consequently
wider. Inside of the upper mandible smooth. Tail, of twelve feathers moderately graduated,
as long as the wings. Tarsus shorter than the bill. Webs including two joints of the outer
toe and one of the, inner one ; the remaining phalanges of the fore toes broadly bordered with
deeply scalloped membranes. Hind toe free, its inner edge attenuated. Nails very small.
Dimensions
Of the female.
Inch. Lin. __ Inch. Lin. Inch. Lin. Length, total . . . 7 6 Length of bill to rictus . 1 0 Length of middle nail . 0 0|
’ „ of tail 2 3 ; of naked thigh . 0 6 r„ . of hind toe . 0 2 ,, of wing ' . . 4 3 of-tarsus ‘ T ’ - ; 0 104 ' „ iof .outer.web » • 0 5
,, of bill above . . 0 11£ „ of middle toe . . 0 9£ Extent of wing . 12 - 6
E g §
[173.] ... 3. P h a l a r o p u s f u l t c a r iu S. (Bonap..) [ Flat-billed Phalerope.
Ge n u s , Phalaropus, Biuss.
The Red Coot-footed Tringa (Tringa rufa). E dw., pi. 142*.
Red Phalerope (Tringafulicaria). ‘ P e n n . Arct. ZooL, ii., p. 494, No. 413.
Red Phalerope (PAaforopws hyperboreus), W il s ., ix , p. 75,, pi. 73, f. 4.
Phalaropus platyrhynchus. Sab. Greenl. Birds, p. 536,.; Suppl. Parry's First Voy., p. cci.
R ic h a r d s. Append. Parry's Second Votj,, p. 335.
Phalaropus fulicarius. Bonap. New York Lye., ii., p. 159 ; Syn., No. 277-
This neat little bird abounds in high northern latitudes, breeds on the North
Georgian Islands and Melville Peninsula, and was often seen swimming on the
* Unless the variations in the length of the bill and in the total size of this bird are greater than usual even among
the Grallatores, two species of Flat-billed Phaleropes have been confounded together by authors. Plates 142 and 308 of