M a c h e t e ^ pugnax (Linnaeus*).
THE R L M g
Maçh&t0 pugnax. -
Machetes, C u v i e r—Bill straight, rather slender, as long as- the head, wrtb
the tip dilated ao/d' smooth ; upper mândiblje, laterally snlcated for fôur^fiîths
of^its length; eulmen rounded. "K'o.s-'tiil 3 'basal, lateral*. linear, placed in the
commencement of the/groove. ■> WingstJbngv'a'nd pointed, th’e^first qujil^fgather
the longest. .Legs moderate, jibe tibia naked for a considerable space above the
* Tringa Puqnax, Linnæus, Sykt^ïfat. Ed. 12,;â.%. 247 (17'Jd). “ ”
t Règne Animal, i. p..490^*1*817A
tarsal joint. Toes, three before And-One behind'; the outer toe united to the
middle one by a small web ; bindJge short, barely touching the ground,. During,
the breeding-season the head and neck: of the male are adorned with long plumes,
which, when raised, form a large ruff aroixnd the head, and the fàb6 is covered
with small ffeAy warts or p a ^ ^ . ? |||
The Buff differs in Jp, many, poinds .from the species
included ipjite genera Totap/ws, WcgYojpax, and Tringa, that
the- generic division and tqçm, Machetes,* In reference to
i^L pugnacious habits', /proppend. for it, by Cuvier, has 'be^p
admitted by the majority of systematic;writers.,"*' This species,
vrjnch-up to the present timeJji the only oneiof the genus
kppwn, is distinguishecMby the periodical assumption by the
males of the ' ruff_ about the njeck,, whiph ,,has led to the
Epglish narnfi.. Scarcely any two males have the ruff al^kjw
while the females are uniform ip colour, or nearly so ; the
uvales are polygamous, and -ahouijjppe^third largely thpn tjjjye
females, ip both OT^hiBÊ J3°in^ the Ruff differs from the
'(pwacters of genera named.
The Ruff mpy now he, gônsiôfered .as only a passing-visitor
tp^^is’country^ making ris appearance ip April and departing
again in autumn, at which timether yoking birds- ©£ t^Vear, in
small flocks, aftfe mso Seen, and single birds are occasionally
.lolled,in tyinter. ^Formerly many Ruffs and Reeves,. thélatte|-
Being the.;namg. applied toTÆ^~femam|j remained with us-
during the summer, And feefldn the^^ens.of Somersetshire,
^m h iddgeshire. Huntingdon. .ItorMk, and Rjp^olnshirq.;v
but’The two lajtei araÇthe onl\ jcpunties jaa which it has been
Sown tq mmpf late jearg.e 'Drainage,- and* the spread ,qf
caltmîtiqn, over itT favourite haunts, «ya, perhaps the nçmin
refeons, hut its wholesalV capturé in spring for the ta|Te|^af
Ine'-rich,' When ‘ gameJ-iJ2)ut of season, is .also responsible
for a .^^ïnutiqn4^ î ^ ^ - |a nM t 'he repaire^ by the taqere
exis"tenç§^àuring. thé past^few years „of. an effete Wild Birds/
Preservation AH.
Êarly in "the presênf century Montagu made a tour through
L ^ o ln sh ire r that jbeWmighi-Meome .intimately acquainted
with all thé Im&ffijy/pï .this singular sp||i^s tha|:/gould pc.