T H E C U R L E W S A N D P I P E R.
TRINGA SUBARQUATA, TJEMM.
PLATE CCLXIII. A D U L T AND YOUNG.
I N the course of my extensive rambles along our coasts and in the interior,
I have seen only three birds of this species, all of which I have
kept with care, considering the Cape Sandpiper or Pigmy Curlew as the
rarest of its genus with us. It appears to resort to particular districts ;
two of my birds were shot at (Grreat Egg Harbour in New Jersey, in the
spring of 1829, the other on Long Island near Sandy Hook. No other
birds were near them, and I approached them without much difficulty.
They were wading along the shores up to the knees, picking up floating
garbage and sand worms. In their stomachs 1 found fragments of minute
shells, slender red worms, and bits of marine plants. The one
killed on Long Island was a fine male in full plumage, and from it I
made the figure that has been engraved in the plate. The others were
females or young birds of the preceding year. One, in plain plumage,
was drawn; the other, mottled beneath with patches of white and dull
rufous, I considered as a female which might perhaps have perfected its
colouring that season. I have seen a few specimens in New York, and
two in Boston; and my friend JOHN BACHMAN has one or two in his
possession.
TRINGA SUBARQUATA, Temm. Man. d'Omith. part ii. p. 609—Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis
of Birds of the United States, p. 317-
NUMENIUS AFRICANUS Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. 712.
CAPE CURLEW OR SANDPIPER, Nuttall, Manual, p. 104.
Adult Male. Plate CCLXIII. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, slender, subcylindrical, flexible, very slightly
decurved, compressed at the base, the point obtuse. Upper mandible
with the dorsal line at first slightly sloping, then nearly straight, and towards
the end slightly decurved, the ridge convex but narrow, the sides
sloping, the edges rather blunt and soft. Nasal groove extending to near
the tip ; nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle
long and very narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides nearly erect, with
a long narrow groove, the tip tapering but rounded.
CURLEW SANDPIPER. 445
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Eyes of moderate size.
Neck of moderate length, rather slender. Body rather slender. Feet
rather long, slender ; tibia bare about a third of its length ; tarsus compressed,
anteriorly and posteriorly covered with numerous scutella; hind
toe very small; the rest of moderate length, slender, the fourth a little
longer than the second, the third longest, all free, scutellate above, flat
beneath, slightly marginate; claws small, slightly arched, compressed,
acute, that of third toe largest, with the inner edge slightly dilated.
Plumage very soft, blended beneath, slightly distinct above. Wings
long and pointed ; primaries tapering, obtuse, the first longest, the second
scarcely shorter, the rest rapidly graduated ; outer secondaries short, incurved,
obliquely truncate, the inner web extending beyond the outer;
the inner secondaries elongated, tapering. Tail rather short, slightly
rounded, of twelve rounded feathers, the two middle a little longer.
Bill dark olive-green, dusky towards the point. Iris hazel. Feet
light olive, claws dusky. The head, neck and breast, are bright yellowishred,
the sides whitish, the lower tail-coverts white, with a brownish-black
spot towards the end. The central parts of the feathers on the upper
part of the head are dark brown, and there are slight streaks of the same
on the hind neck and sides of the breast. The upper parts are mottled
with brownish-black and dull red, the rump pale brownish-grey, as are
the smaller wing-coverts. Quills greyish-brown, the primaries dark, the
outer secondaries light and tipped with white, the inner darker and glossed
with green. Upper tail-coverts white, spotted with brown and red; tail
pale brownish grey, glossed with green.
Length to end of tail 8 | inches, to end of wings 9 i s ; extent of wings
16; wing from flexure 5 ; tail 2jS ; bill along the back 1^, along the
edge of lower mandible 1^.2 ; bare parts of tibia ; tarsus l y , middle toe
2 1, its claw 2
. Weight 2% oz.
T
2 Adult Female, Plate CCLXIII. Young in autumn.
The bill, iris, and feet as in the adult. On the upper parts the feathers
are brown, edged with darker, and margined with greyish yellow ;
the lore, cheeks and sides of the neck and body are greyish-yellow, with
dusky lines, a broad band from the mandible over the eye, the fore part
of the neck, and the rest of the lower parts, white. Quills and tail as in
the adult, but lighter.
Length to end of tail 7 | inches; extent of wings 14£. Weight I f oz.