the air. I t is called provincially “ Shrieker,” “ Yarwhelp,'”'
and “ Barker,” b u t its note, though loud, is far from
inharmonious» Black-tailed Gtadwits commence laying their
eggs early in May, and the nest, which is composed
of dry grass and other vegetables, is concealed amongst
the coarse herbage of the swamps and low meadows. Hoy
mentions that, when disturbed, they are clamorous, flying
round and vociferating the cry of grutto, grutto, grutto, by
which name the bird is known among the country people in
Holland* The eggs are four in number, of a light olive-
brown, blotched and spotted with darker brown, rather pear-
shaped, and averaging 3 '2 by 1-5 in. The food of these
birds consists of insects and their larvae, worms, and almost
any. other soft-bodied animals»'
f: This Gtodwit, in the winter plumage, has th& beak black
for one-third’of its length, the basal portion pale yellowish-
brown ; the irides hazel ; before and over 'the -‘eye a white
patch ; the whole of the head "and neck ash-brown ji^the
scapulars, wing-co^erts, back, and ik e c tis^ ashrbrown, the
covertSs and. tertials with lighter=nolaured edges ; primary
quill-feathers dusky-black,' the l shafts white, with some
white at the basé of all!beyond the ^second,' forming a bar
across the wing ; basal third o f the tail-feathers white^:4Ke
terminal two-thirds1 black/ except ' thé o u te r tail-feather on
each side, which -have a larger proportion! of ’whxte|f? chin,
breast, and belly/ lig h t - greyish-ash ; vent, and under tail-
coverts white j^d-egs and töès dusky-brown ; fch#iélàws black.
' The whole.length of a female- îâ seventeen inches /the
beak alone four inches, Prom the çarp|Jqj3|int to the end of
the first quill-feather, which, is the longest bn; the wing,^.ne
inches ; length of-the tarsus t thee® inches^-of the nakéd part
aboye^gne inch anc|,, threp-quarters ; fweightI jaboutil 3 ©z.
The male in summer h a sf?, the beak black for half its
length from the'-point, the basal-half orange ; irides hazel-;
* Iii an unusually large bird obtained^ near Taunton, in February, |E§|§|i£.
collection of Mr. QepII,, Sjnith, the bill measures 4 ‘7. and thé tarsus S'S/'-tbe
wing, however, is only^ 8 ^ 5 In the Archangel Museum Messrs. Alstop and-
Harÿîe-IsEown observed a specimennyhibh measured—bill 4*8?, 'tarsus "3'^rabia
nearly &$, wingJ9 ^ ^b i|, '187^^1^69)
from the gape to the eye a dark streak, produced by small
black spots on feathers of a reddish-brown ; over this and
around the eye a ring qf pale brown ; top of the, head and
the ear-coverts reddish-brown streaked with black ; the neck
before and behind, a reddish faipj^olour ; the feathers on
the hack dark brown, almost black at the base and on the
centre ; primaries and tail rathe? brighter than in the
female ; the breast white, barred across with rufous-brown
and dark brown ; the thighs and belly more sparingly barred
with dark brown oülyj vent and under tail-coverts white;
legs*, .tees, and claws, brownish-black.
■ The whole length of a male .sixteen inches; beak alone
three fnches and a quarter ; weight about 10 -■
-4’Thé female in summer is on the head and neck ;
the back, scapulars and secondaries are of a dull earthy grey
with comparatively few black and rufous markings ; the dark
bars on, the breast are teinter and less regular; and the
under parts are whiter, than in the male.
JjYoifrig birds o fd iV y e a r are during thejr. first autumn
tinged with red on the neck, and may he,, distinguished
throughout their first winter from old birds, by their smaller
§pe, and by the ash-brown .-tint, which pervades their - neck
and the upper part of the breast ; th e white of the lowe?
part q f 'tf e breast is, also ,^lguded with ash-grey.,,
r';-TEe nestling is yellowish-huff, streaked with black on the
crown, neek, and back ; a narrow dark loral streak ; under
parts^elfewish^white.
Inl-the/allustration at the" commencement of th e account
of the Black-tailed Godwit, -theî figure in the front sitting
down represents the 1 male in summer plumage ; the larger
figure behind is the female in the more uniform and sombre
plumage of winter.